Living With a Lie
by Bedlam87
Summary: Jess and Becker both have secrets. But only one secret could prove truly dangerous.
1. Chapter 1

**Please note this is set after season 4 episode 6 so you won't understand what going on if you haven't seen the episode yet. Let me know if you want to hear more of the story I have planned and I'll try to get more up as soon as possible. If I continue the story it will have adult themes, just none in the first few chapters most likely.**

**Becker POV  
**

Becker sat staring at the same gun he'd cleaned twice already. After a very quiet car ride back to the ARC, he and Jess had just spent the last two hours debriefing Lester on the little bomb incident at Ethen's hideout. A great deal of that had been dealing with Lester's sarcastic barbs on going into a dangerous situation without proper backup. The fact that Jess had brilliantly saved the day helped their situation a little, still Lester pointed out that she shouldn't have been in the field.

_He's right_ a part of Becker's mind said. He'd nearly gotten Jess killed because he didn't send her home after she'd shown up. Becker tried to forget the close call, and how it had felt to hold Jess for the few moments after she thrown her arms around his neck in relief, or how soft her hair had been in his hands. Becker shook the memory from his mind before it could go any further and started cleaning the nearest gun, only to realize it was the same gun. He threw the rag down in disgust and ran his fingers threw his short hair with a groan. Putting the guns away gave him the opportunity to slam the cabinet doors closed with helped his mood a bit, but not completely. He leaned on the back of the nearest chair and rubbed a hand over his face. He needed to hit something else. Maybe it would help him forget just how scared he had felt when Jess pulled the cover off the bomb and then refused to leave.

The gym was quiet. There was just enough light to illuminate the punching bag in the corner, which looked like a promising solution to his rising aggression level. Soon the sounds of fists pounding against leather echoed in quiet halls of the ARC. His emotions boiled to the surface as he pounded away at the hard leather bag. He'd been so close to failing, and he had the feeling if he lost Jess it would be far worse than all the other's put together. He'd begged her to leave, well as close to begging as he would ever get, but she was too stubborn. It was his job to risk his life, not hers. He hit the bag as hard as he could, making it swing as far as the chain would allow. He hit it over and over, ignoring the shockwaves rippling up his already fatigued arms.

"Becker?" He spun around towards the voice only to be smacked in the side as the bag came swinging back his way.

"Ow," he groaned rubbing his shoulder. He hadn't noticed until now just how sore it was from keeping the counter weight from hitting the floor until now. Jess winced.

"Sorry," She paused, "I seem to be saying that to you a lot lately." Becker shrugged and hit the bag again. Just seeing Jess here was enough to bring back the memories from the warehouse. He hated that he'd been stupid enough to walk into a trap that should have been so obvious. He'd gone back over the CCTV footage and realized that Ethan had looked right at the camera. The bastard had actually smiled! Taunting him! Becker threw another punch.

"Becker."

"What?" He said turning around quickly, realizing that he had completely tuned her out while raging away in his head.

"Your hands are bleeding." She said pointing to his balled up fists. Becker looked at his hands in shock to see that she was right, he'd pounded the bag so hard that his knuckles had split. Blood was dripping onto the wrestling mat beneath his feet.

"Becker?" He felt her hand on him arm and realized he'd been staring at the spot on the punching bag that was smeared with his blood. Jess lead him over to the bench he had set his water and towels on and pushed him down. He sat with a soft thud while Jess straddled the bench next to him and started cleaning his hands with the supplies from the med kit she must have pulled out when he'd been off in his own world. After a minute Becker looked over at Jess, who had her head bent over his hand intent on her task. She was to gentle and compassionate to be in the field. Becker frowned as images of her standing next to the bomb meant to obliterate the building rushed into his head.

"You should have left." Becker said curtly when she reached for a piece of gauze. Jess looked up at him her eyes going wide in surprise and confusion. Becker stood and walked back towards the punching bag that was still swinging slightly.

"When?" Jess asked edging closer like she'd seen Abby do with agitated animals in the menagerie. Becker had turned his attention back to the bag and wouldn't look at her.

"When I told you to leave," Becker said punching the bag again, "next time follow my orders." Jess waited until the chains had stopped jingling to reply.

"I'm not one of your soldiers Becker." She said and winced when Becker hit the bag again even harder than before.

"Then stay in the ARC next time!" He shouted advancing a step. Surprised Jess stumbled back encumbered by her heels, nearly falling before she caught herself. Becker stopped immediately regretting his harsh tone.

"Bloody hell, Jess. I'm sorry." He looked at the floor not wanting to see the fear in her eyes that he knew was there. He felt Jess carefully take his hand and lead him back to the bench. They sat in silence while Jess disinfected and wrapped his hands. After his blood stained hands had been seen to Jess got up to return the med kit to the shelf behind them.

"I don't think I can lose anyone else Jess," he said quietly. Instantly regretting actually saying the words out loud, he dropped his head not wanting her to see the vulnerability in his eyes. Part of him hoped she hadn't heard him and would think he was just bowing his head in exhaustion. Another part wanted her to see right through him. Her heels tapped on the cement behind him and slowly her arms wrapped around his neck in silent support. They stayed like that for a moment, just enjoying the sensation of being that close.

"Go home and get some rest," she whispered in his ear, the warmth of her breath tickling his ear. "You look exhausted."

Becker looked up at her and realized that she had heard his confession, but was pretending she hadn't.

"Jess," he said as he turned on the bench to face her. His eyes were drawn to the point near her stomach where she fiddled with the long necklace she must have put on before the video conference wedding. Becker frowned as he saw fading blue marks on her small wrists, just barely peeking out from under her security bracelet.

"Where did you get that bruise Jess?" He asked carefully taking her hand to better see the mark. Jess quickly drew her hand out of reach and used it to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"I must have bumped it when I thought I'd set off the bomb." She said, not meeting his gaze. She started gathering her things, which Becker hadn't even realized were there. Her bright purple phone rang as she reached for it and Becker could have sworn she looked frightened as she stared at the number on the caller I.D.

"You alright Jess," He asked, a little disconcerted at the feelings washing over him. He reached for the phone not really sure what he was going to do, but needing to wipe the fear from her face. Jess was faster. She had the phone safely tucked into her purse faster than he would have thought she could move.

"I'm fine," she said, "I should get home before Conner and Abby decide to send a search party after me." She said a small smile playing at her lips, inviting him to join her in the joke, and started towards the door. She turned back after a few feet and quickly pressed her lips against his cheek.

"Goodnight," She said and walked out the door, leaving Becker standing alone in the darkened gym.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. I know this was a really fast update, but I had to get this part out of my head. I'll get into more details in the next chapter, but it may be a while because I'm working 12 hrs a day for the next week. I'll try to get more up ASAP.**

**Jess' POV**

Jess hugged her bag tighter to her side, knowing the phone was going to go off again at any minute and walked quickly down the hall, away from Becker before she could change her mind and go running back to throw herself into his arms, confessing everything. The ringing that she'd learned to hate was deafening in the silent hall. _Oh God, _she thought cringing, _I thought this was over._

Jess looked over her shoulder and saw Becker standing by the gym door watching her leave, a familiar frown creasing his forehead. She managed to flash a brilliant smile and a wave, but kept walking. Her plans for the night had been to finish up some paperwork and head home, hopefully missing most of the now incessant calls and texts. But then she'd heard the pounding of the punching bag and her curiosity had gotten the better of her. Jess had felt her heart ache when she'd seen Becker pounding away at the bag, apparently oblivious to the blood being beaten into the aged leather. It wasn't in her heart to leave when he looked so lost. It was a side of Becker that she'd never seen before and she doubted anyone else had either. He wanted to protect the world and normally she'd want that protection in a heartbeat, but right then she felt like she need to protect him. There were a few moments when she'd been bandaging his hands, and feeling his gaze on her, that she'd wanted to tell him about her problem, but she didn't want her personal life to interfere with her work life. The ARC was the only place she had left where she could pretend there was nothing wrong outside in the normal world. So she stayed silent. She'd lose her safe haven soon enough when the others found out what was going on. It would happen sooner rather than later now that Abby and Connor had become her flat mates. She could only stay optimistic and bubbly for so much longer before the veneer of her mask began to crack.

A familiar ringtone broke the silence in the empty parking garage, making her jump. She reached into her bag, digging through a few papers, her wallet and a chocolate bar to find the damn thing, only to begin shaking as she recognized the number on the screen.

"Stop calling me!" She screamed into the phone as soon as she hit the talk button. She tossed the phone back in her bag like it might bite her and pushed the unlock button on her car alarm. Jess jumped into the driver's seat and began to shake. The tears she was fighting were already spilling onto her cheeks. Her forehead settled on the steering wheel as the stress of the last few months poured out of her body through her tears. She didn't understand why this was happening. She'd already changed her personal phone number twice, but nothing seemed to work. Sobs subsided into silence as Jess brought herself back under control and put the car into gear and looked over her shoulder and pulled out of the parking space, desperate to get home. She would be safe at home.

The drive home became tense as her phone went off yet again. The ringing disappeared as the call went to her inbox and Jess found herself dreading the sharp ping that would alert her to a new voicemail. Jess jumped when it actually came, nearly veering into the next lane. Jess straightened the car and focused on getting back to her flat, which was just a block away. Her small blue sedan pulled into the well-lit parking garage and parked in the closest spot she could find to the lifts, then she was at her front door in seconds her keys already in her hands. A sigh of relief pass her lips as the door lock clicked shut. She dropped her bag on the kitchen counter, doing her best to be quiet since Connor and Abby were most likely sleeping in the other room. Jess glanced at the large computer sitting in the main room debating whether she should check her mail or leave it for the morning. The large clock in the kitchen read 12:00, making up her mind for her. The fluffy queen sized bed was calling her name. As she passed the doorway into her room she didn't hear the alert from the computer telling her she had a new message.

Jess woke the next morning to a quiet argument coming from the main area of the flat. She frowned hoping that Connor hadn't done something silly again and gotten Abby mad at him. After using the bathroom and showering Jess decided she couldn't put off interrupting the argument any longer, because she could really use a cup of tea at the moment. She tried to sneak out of her room as quietly as possible, but was caught rather quickly.

"Hey Jess, come here for a minute." Connor called from his seat at the computer, Abby stood next to him her arms crossed in front of her chest. Jess dragged her feet as she walked away from the kettle that would make her longed for cup of tea.

"I know," she said, "I'd make a horrible thief or spy. I've never been a very quiet walker." Jess' smile faltered when neither of her flat mates smiled.

"Look at this," Connor said seriously pointing at the computer monitor. Jess took everything seriously when Connor lost his sense of humor and looked at what he pointed at.

_**IM from Together Forever: **_

_**We belong together. Don't try and stop what's meant to be.**_

Jess stared at the words on the screen and felt the walls she'd built around the ARC beginning to fall away. Abby reached out and put her arms around Jess' shoulders, while Conner looked at her with his eyes full of honest concern.

"Jess," Abby said, "What's going on."


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm assuming there was at least a few weeks between episode 6 &7 for all this to happen. The story will probably end just after the events of episode 7, but there will definitely be quite a few chapters, apparently my muse really likes this story. :D Hope you all do to.  
**

**Jess' POV**

Jess walked into the ARC the next morning feeling sick to her stomach. Abby and Connor knew everything now that they'd dragged the truth from her. She had managed to convince them not to say anything by telling them that she wasn't in any real danger since he hadn't made any real threats. Connor and Abby hadn't seemed convinced, but when she put on her famous puppy dog eyes they caved. Connor had spent the car ride over typing away on his laptop in silence, and Abby had kept throwing her concerned glances as she drove. It was exactly what she hadn't wanted to happen. She went for the lift as soon as the car had turned off hoping to avoid sharing with Abby and Connor. When the lift doors closed with her as the only occupant she let out a sigh of relief. She really wanted to cry, but that would mean having to explain why her makeup had gotten messed between the car and the ADD. Jess took a few deep breaths to steady herself for what to come and stepped out into the ops center when the doors opened.

When Jess saw Becker sitting at one of the desks near the ADD, his hands still covered with her bandages her heart skipped a beat. He was once again the consummate soldier, without a trace of the pain and rage she'd seen last night. She turned on Connor who had just caught up to her and pulled him to a stop while they were still out of the soldier's earshot.

"Not a word to anyone, especially Becker. You promised," She said, poking him hard in the chest with each word. Connor rubbed the spot wincing.

"But…" the shrill alarm from the ADD cut Connor off and Jess had never been more relieved to hear that sound. She trotted over to the mega computer as quickly as she could in her purple heels and sat, instantly typing furiously at the keyboard.

"What do we have Jess," Becker said leaning over her chair to get a better look at the screens. Jess nearly jumped out of her skin, that man moved to quietly for her nerves sometimes.

"Anomaly detected. It looks like it's at the British library." Jess told him, trying to hide the blush on her cheeks by ducking her head to the keyboard. Becker grabbed the nearest black box.

"Maybe the creatures need a lesson in literature," he said dryly. Connor chuckled next to him, and they both headed for the parking garage. Connor paused and came back to put a hand on her shoulder.

"We're talking about this when we get back," for once Connor looked almost as intimidating as Becker, which was not an easy thing to do. Jess did her best to glare at him, but Connor just smiled and sprinted off after Becker. Jess watched them go wondering what else Connor wanted to talk about. He and Abby had promised not to tell anyone, so there was nothing else to talk about. Right?

"Any signs of creatures yet Jess?" The team leader's voice was short and clipped like always when it came through the coms. Jess sighed and turned back to the ADD.

"One sec. I'm almost in the security system," Jess hit a few more keys and the security camera feed was showing live on the collection of screens in front of her. "I don't see any signs of an incursion yet, but I'll keep my eyes peeled."

"Thanks Jess," Matt said.

"Be careful guys," Jess said. She heard Becker chuckle in her ear making her shiver pleasantly despite the chaos in her life.

"Where's the fun in that?" Connor asked. Jess could almost see Becker smirking behind Connor.

"Not being eaten?"

"Good point."

**Becker's POV**

Becker cracked a few jokes with his men in the car, but his heart really wasn't in it. He really hoped they didn't have to come across any creatures right now, his head was in the wrong place today. The team piled out of the black SUV and headed for the front entrance of the Library, weapons at the ready. Becker tilted his head from side to side trying to relieve the tension that had built up from a night on the couch in the barracks. He'd spent the night at the ARC rather than go home to his empty flat. He wasn't sure why the idea of going home last night had been so distasteful, but he knew the only things keeping him from returning to the punching bag were the bandages Jess had wrapped around his torn knuckles. He glanced down at the dressings and mentally cursed himself for letting her see him like that. People were supposed to be able to trust him with their lives, how would they feel if they knew how close he'd come to breaking last night. He wondered how Jess saw him now.

"Looks like you can come home now guys," Jess' voice came over the coms wrenching Becker out of his thoughts, "The anomaly just closed. I'll go back through the CCTV footage and see if any creatures got through." Becker released a sigh of relief.

"Excellent," Lester's voice in their ears caused everyone to jump and look at each other in shock, Lester never came on the com system if he could avoid it. Judging from the startled squeak that had followed, Jess had been surprised as well. A smile tugged at his lips when he imagined the wide eyed look on her face, before Lester spoke again. "Matt, you and Becker are going to have to clear the building. Connor, I just received your email about Ms. Parker's situation."

"Connor! You promised!" Jess' outraged voice told Becker this was something big. He frowned and turned to Connor.

"What situation?" He mouthed. Becker saw that Matt was looking at Connor with what might be a look of concern on what was normally a pretty damn good poker face.

"Tell you later," Connor mouthed back. Becker was about to try and force it out of Connor when Lester interrupted him.

"Connor and Abby, I want you in my office within the next five minutes along with Ms. Parker."

"But sir…"

"Now Ms. Parker." Lester's tone brokered no argument, which surprised Becker because Jess was the only person Lester seemed to actually like. "Matt? Becker?"

"Understood sir," Becker said curtly at the same time Matt did. He didn't really understand, but that was what Lester wanted to hear. Connor went to find Abby, who had gone around the other side of the library. Matt and Becker walked carefully down the halls clearing each room and alcove.

"Any idea what that was about?" Matt asked him as they rounded a corner.

"Not a clue, but I plan on finding out."

An hour later Becker stood outside Lester's office watching the events inside unfold. Jess sat with her head down as Connor and Lester went over something on the computer. Abby was leaning against the glass wall watching Jess with concerned eyes. Becker shifted his weight, anxious to know what was going on, wanting to wipe the look of fear and sadness from Jess' face. When Lester said something that made Jess bury her face in her hand, Becker gave up the fight. He pushed off the railing he'd been leaning and walked into the office. Lester looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Ah yes Becker, perfect timing." He said. Becker snuck a look at Jess just in time to catch her looking at him, she looked away quickly. But Becker still saw the tears streaming down her face. Every instinct he knew he had roared to life, demanding he do something.

"What's going on sir?" He asked Lester.

"It seems Ms. Parker has a stalker."


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay so my psychotic schedule has finally cleared up, yay to me for surviving 60hr work weeks, and I'll do my best to update regularly. I hope you enjoy this latest installment.**

**Jess' POV**

Jess sat in her chair as still as she could, her face getting redder as the silence wore on. She could almost feel just how tense Becker was as he stood behind her. She didn't even know if he was aware he'd taken a step towards her when Lester had let the bomb drop. _Oh God, _she thought, _I don't want this to be on his has too many things to worry about already._

"What?" Becker's voice was eerily calm, and Jess flinched at the sound. She never wanted this. She'd hoped the idiot who'd been calling her would simply go away and things could go back to normal. It was a silly thing to wish for, and she knew that, but it hadn't stopped her from snuck another look at Becker, who hadn't moved from his spot. She could see his hand were clenched into fists and winced in sympathy as she saw fresh blood start to seep through the white gauze.

"Some bloke's been bothering Jess," Connor said, for some reason think Becker had actually been asking for a repeat of information. He shut up quickly when Becker glared at him.

"How serious is it?" Becker asked Lester not bothering to look at Jess. Normally Jess would be a bit miffed that they were acting like she was invisible, but right now invisible was just what she wanted to be.

"Ms. Parker insists that there's no real danger, as the contact has been limited to phone calls and emails, but I'll let you decide." He stepped aside and motioned Becker towards the computer. Jess guessed that Connor had hacked into her email and sent all her messages to Lester. She tried not to watch as Becker's face grew colder as he read on, but she couldn't help it. It wasn't fair that he could still be so appealing when he was furious. Becker looked up from the screen and walked to stand directly in front of her. He looked directly at her and leaned his weight against the desk.

"Start from the beginning."

"I don't..." Jess began, but stopped when Becker raised an eyebrow expectantly. "Oh alright," she said.

"Wow, it took us an hour just to get that much outta her." Connor said, and then yelped when Abby dug an elbow into his ribs. Lester rolled his eyes at their antics.

"Right! Connor, Abby you two probably have some work to do seeing as you actually work here." He said.

"Not really," Connor said obviously not wanting to leave now that things were getting interesting. It was Abby's turn to roll her eyes and she pulled him out the door by his sleeve. Jess watched them leave already feeling a bit bad for Connor, even if she was supposed to be mad at him.

"How did this happen Jess?" Becker's voice was gentle, making her return her attention to the situation at hand.

"I honestly don't know," she said, "He just started calling me one day and hasn't stopped." Jess couldn't meet Becker's gaze so she just looked at his hands, which were gripping the desk on either side of sighed and crossed his arms over his chest causing her to lose focus for a moment. She looked up and met his gaze.

"Did he give you that bruise on your wrist Jess?" He asked, refusing to let her drop her gaze. Lester stood up a little straighter, his eyes darting away from the glass wall to her then to her wrist. Jess blushed under the intense scrutiny of the two men and fought the urge to rub the wrist they were both looking at.

"No. I really did just bump it in Ethan's flat." Jess glanced up just in time to see Becker flinch at the thought of what had happened yesterday. Jess could tell how much he hated being caught in Ethan's trap.

"Maybe she should stay at the company flat until we sort this all out." Becker said looking at Lester who began to nod in agreement before Jess jumped to her feet.

"I'm not letting him chase me from my home. He doesn't know where I live, so I should still be safe there." Jess wasn't actually positive about that last bit, but she wasn't going to tell them. It was bad enough the team knew now, there wasn't anywhere for her to hide anymore, and she still felt safe at home. She wasn't giving that up. Jess stood and held her head high, obviously surprising the two men with her outburst. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a job to do." With that she walked calmly out of Lester's office, leaving Becker and Lester staring after her.

**Becker's POV**

Becker stalked down the halls of the ARC searching for Jess. She'd been quiet since the meeting in Lester's office. It made him realized just how much he counted on her bubbly personality to bring light to what could often become a very dark 'd already had to make two notifications this week alone and he didn't care how many times you had to do it, telling someone their loved one is dead never gets easier. The memories pushed him to find Jess even faster, the last thing in the world he wanted to do was tell her family that she was dead because he'd failed to protect her. He stopped in the doorway of the op room when he saw Connor at the ADD. Becker growled his frustration, not sure where to look for her next. He'd heard Abby mention that Jess sometimes went to visit her with the creatures. He spun sharply on his heel and headed down towards the menagerie. He reached the menagerie door in record time and peered through the glass. Jess sat on one of the tables her face sad as she petted Rex who was sprawled across her lap like a contented cat. Becker felt his shoulders relax like they always did around her. Jess managed to get under his skin somehow and keep him sane. In just the first few weeks after they met, he'd found himself smiling more than he had in the entire year since they'd lost Sarah and thought they'd lost Connor and Abby as well. He swallowed hard as he watched her hug Rex to her chest gently, her mind wandering off to who knows where. He remembered her normally vibrant blue eyes brimming with tears and was shocked at how vulnerable she looked. Seeing her in danger was something he would never get used to. He figured she'd be safe once they got away from that bomb, but here she was facing a danger that he'd never even thought of. He frowned at the thought of this unknown threat hurting her. He stormed through the door before he could stop himself.

"Jess," he started, but was quickly interrupted by Jess' familiar ramblings.

"I know what you're going to say, and it's not going to happen. I feel safe at home, I won't let you or Lester tell me what to do in my personal life. Outside of the ARC I don't have to…" Becker put a hand over her mouth muffling the rest of the sentence.

"Technically we can't make you do anything, unless it becomes a threat to the ARC, so you can stay at your flat. On the condition that you use the company flat if things get worse." He said removing his hand. He resisted the urge to shake it out, his palm felt like it was buzzing where her lips had pressed against it. Jess started to protest and Becker put his hand against her mouth again.

"You either agree, or I restrain you and take you to the company flat." He said glaring at her. She tried to glare back, but she only managed to look adorable. Becker slowly took his hand away and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He could tell Jess was debating with herself and waited for her to make a decision, having a hard time resisting the urge to scoop her up and hide her away somewhere safe.

"Deal." She finally said.

**Jess' POV**

Jess stooped to pick up the post as she unlocked the door. She dropped her keys on the kitchen counter and let out a sigh of relief. She was happy to be home, and that Becker hadn't put up too big a fight about her staying. Though the idea of him tying her up was not entirely unappealing. She should have actually said that, or offered to return the favor. She hated that she could never come up with a great comeback until it was too late to use it. Shaking her head at her lack of brain function around the handsome captain she shoved aside the few envelopes and focused on the small package that she hoped contained the book on computer science she had ordered the other week. She ripped open the package and what looked like a piece of paper fell to the ground. When it landed Jess dropped the box, scattering chocolates on the kitchen tile. She scrambled for her phone and pulled up a familiar contact.

"Becker," she said as soon as he answered, "Please come and get me." She slid down the counter and stared at the picture of her standing at her front door. The words "I Love You" printed boldly in red across the glossy photo surface.


	5. Chapter 5

**First off I wanted to redo this whole chapter as soon I I posted it. Then I want to thank Angel Monroe for her wonderful review, which promptly smacked my muse upside her head and told her to get back to work. I hope this chapter lives up to her expectations. Thank You, thank you, thank you. I got this rewrite don in the same amount of time as it took for the original and it's so much better. I hope you all enjoy it.**

**Becker's POV**

Becker screeched to a halt in front of Jess' flat, ignoring the fact that his truck was parked at an angle, partially impairing traffic. Ignoring the angry honking and yelling from other motorists he took off up the stairs leading to Jess' home. He took the stairs two at a time, nearly sliding past the right door in his haste as he tried to stop quickly. He pounded his fist on the door, not even noticing the pain shooting through his wounded knuckles every time he hit the solid door.

"Jess," he yelled, eliciting worried glances from a woman down the hall entering her own door down the hall. It dawned on him that knocking aggressively on the door and yelling was probably not the best way to let a woman who was terrified of a stalker know you want to come in. He quickly adjusted his method and knocked firmly on the door.

"Jess? It's Becker, open the door.' He said gently, but still loudly enough to be heard inside. The woman down the hall was watching him with her mobile in her hand, most likely with the emergency number dialed and just waiting for an excuse to press the send button. He felt a slight blush of embarrassment creep up his neck and knocked on the door again after a minute of silence.

"Jess? Answer me please." He was nearly begging and that scarred him almost as much as any creature. _Screw it_, he thought,_ I'll deal with the police when they show up._ He backed up, ready to kick down the door, when it flew open and Jess barreled into him. He wrapped his arms around her and stumbled back a few feet from the force of her charge out the door. Becker glanced down at Jess, who was sobbing into his jacket, then at the woman at the end of the hall. She had visibly relaxed after Jess had unwittingly acknowledged him as one of the good guys. He sent her a nod of thanks which she returned before walking into her own flat and closing the door. Becker pulled away from Jess, surprised at how reluctant he was to let go of her. He tilted her chin up to meet his gaze and felt a rush of anger towards the man responsible for filling them with tears.

"What happened Jess?" He asked. Jess didn't speak, but lead him into the flat. She stopped a good five feet away from the mess in the kitchen and pointed. The picture was lying where it had fallen, surrounded by the spilled chocolates. Becker squatted and took a picture of the photo and the words written on it. He stood up quickly and steered Jess around the mess and towards her bedroom with his hand on the small of her back. His face was blank, but his eyes were filled with rage.

"Pack a bag," he ordered, "We're leaving in five minutes." His tone left no room for argument, though he doubted that Jess was in any mood to disagree. Becker watched as she quickly packed a few things into a small purple suitcase and made a mental note to have Abby come pack a bigger bag for her. He doubted she could fit enough into that suitcase for as long as it was going to take to catch this guy.

"We're gonna get this guy," He said out loud. Jess paused what she was doing and looked at him. "I promise." Jess nodded and resumed shoving as much in the case as humanly possible.

Becker's fists were clenching and unclenching as he led Jess down to his truck. He'd carried her suitcase down the stairs and now she was rolling it quickly behind her on the concrete. His eyes darted back and forth, catching all the movement on the street on the street around them. The only problem was he had no idea what he was looking for. Having an unknown enemy was new to him. He was used to knowing exactly who he was fighting. He was a soldier and in the military his enemy was whoever his C.O. pointed him to. At the A.R.C. he shot at whatever was trying to eat him, though the idea of shooting Matt was not unappealing. This stalker whole stalker thing was uncharted territory for him, and he didn't like it one bit. Once Jess was safely seated in the passenger seat of his truck, Becker's frustration got the better of him and he tossed the bag into the truck bed with a little more force than he'd intended. He saw Jess jump through the back window and sighed. He ran a hand through is hair and took a few deep breaths to get his heart rate back under control. He walked around to his side of the car, pausing to make an obscene gesture at a passing motorist who was less than pleased with his parking job. Becker's frown deepened as he threw open his door. His reaction to the honking car had been so out of character that he knew he was in trouble. He settled into his seat and pulled on his seatbelt, he glanced at Jess to make sure she was secured before starting the engine and pulling out into traffic.

Jess was unusually quiet making Becker glance over at her, she was shaking. Becker wasn't sure if it was from the cold, in their haste they'd forgotten her jacket, or from fear. Becker reached into the back seat of the extended cab and pulled out his extra jacket. He placed it over her with a little difficultly with his free hand, trying to keep his eyes on the road. The movement seemed to rouse Jess from whatever trance she was in and she pulled the black military jacket tightly around her, smiling a thank you to him. He let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding when she turned her gaze back to the passing street. He'd been worried that she was losing her normally bubbly personality. That would be pretty awful since Jess was known for her personality, bright clothing and short skirts. Becker shifted slightly when he thought about the tiny skirts she normally wore to work. His mind really shouldn't go there right now, but he was a man after all and she looked damn good in those things. He glanced back at Jess who was still shaking slightly and reached over to grab the hand that was still outside of the jacket. Jess looked up at him her eyes wide with surprise. At least he hoped it was surprise and not fear. He was as shocked as she was, he hadn't meant to take her hand, but he had so he figured he'd keep it. He didn't want to freak her out any more than she already was. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand in what he hoped was a calming manner. She relaxed visibly and closed her eyes leaning her head back against the head rest. After a moment he slowly took his hand away and used the tough screen to call Connor's, hoping the boy genius was still at the A.R.C. Soon Connor's voice came over the speaker system.

"What can I do for you Action Man?" Becker sighed at the use of the nickname Connor had bestowed on him his first day on the job, but at least it was better than Soldier Boy.

"Don't go back to the flat," Becker said without preamble, "Jess' stalker sent a package to the house."

"Is she okay?" Connor's voice had lost all of the playfulness that was normally there, and Becker had a feeling he was talking to the Connor who had spent a year surviving in hostile territory.

"She's fine, but it's better for everyone if no one stays there for a while." He said.

"Abby and I have to pack our bags, but then we'll be outta there quick." Connor said. Becker could hear Abby in the background asking questions.

"Do me a favor and have Abby pack more of Jess' clothes for her. We didn't have enough time to pack enough to last more than a few days. Then get the keys for the company flat and stay there until this blows over."

"Okay," Connor drew the word out, his way of letting people know he had more to say, "You know it's a one bedroom flat right."

"Guess you'll have to sleep on the couch when you piss Abby off," Becker said knowing it was only a matter of time before Connor did something to make his girlfriend mad.

"Very funny," Connor said, "But seriously, where's Jess going to stay?"

"With me," Becker said. Jess snapped her head around to look at him, this time the shock was written all over her face. He hung up the phone before Connor could say something clever and looked over at Jess.

"Are you okay with that?" He asked. Part of him was afraid she'd say no. He tensed when she shook her head.

"You don't have to do this," she said. Becker relaxed a little recognizing that she wasn't refusing outright. "I can check into a hotel…"

"It's fine Jess. I have an extra bedroom, besides it's easier this way." Jess looked at him with a raised eyebrow and Becker felt himself blushing again. He hated that she could do that. "Lester and I think you need round the clock protection."

"When was this decided?" She squeaked.

"After you left. We discussed what the next step was if the stalking got any worse. Which it did," he stopped her before she could argue. "So you're stuck with me until this whole thing is resolved."

"Thank you," Jess said softly after a minute of silence. Becker looked over at her, a little worried that she had conceded so fast, and saw how fragile she looked. His insides twisted strangely and he focused on getting her to his place as fast as he could.

**Jess' POV**

Jess jumped as Becker closed the door behind them, and then silently scolded herself for being such a coward.

"I'll put your bag in the spare room, just…" Becker trailed off gesturing awkwardly with one hand, "make yourself at home." He walked down the hall and out of sight, leaving Jess to take his words to heart. She started her exploration in the living room. She was surprised at how stark everything was. The walls were white and there was nothing hanging on the wall that would make her think of it as someone's home. There was a couch, coffee table and entertainment center, all in black much to her amusement. Becker seemed to have a penchant for that color, or lack of color. The couch hardly looked like it was used at all, in fact the whole room looked a bit like a hotel. She'd expected sparse furnishings and decorations, due to the military upbringing, or even a messy bachelor pad, but she'd thought there would be something to mark the space as Becker's. She sat on the couch and her eyes were instantly drawn to a leather book on the lower shelf of the coffee table. She turned to make sure the coast was clear before pulling it onto her lap. The first page was a picture of the old team; Cutter, Sarah, Danny, Connor, Abby and Becker. Becker had his arm around Sarah and he was actually smiling. Page after page were filled with pictures of the team just hanging around the ARC, and Becker was smiling in every one of them. Jess smile sadly and traced his smile on the last picture, her heart breaking with the thought of all the pain he'd gone through to erase that easy smile.

"Jess," Becker's voice behind her made her jump and dropped the album to the floor, she replaced it quickly feeling a little guilty for invading his privacy like that. She turned to Becker trying to hide the blush that was slowly sweeping up from her chest to her forehead. Luckily Becker didn't seem to notice her discomfort, or it he did he was contributing it to her stalker. For once Jess was almost thankful to the crazy person who was making her life hell. Becker handed her the towels he had in his hand.

"We're going to have to share the bathroom, and I figured you'd like to get cleaned up. So why don't you take a shower and I'll order some dinner." Becker looked so horribly uncomfortably that it was cute. Jess had to stifle the urge to laugh. She could tell this whole situation was new to him, and she could almost imagine how awkward he felt right now. She decided to spare him any more discomfort and took the towels.

"Thanks," she said with a smile and walked towards where she assumed the bathroom was.

**Becker's POV**

Becker watched her go and waited till he heard the tap turn on before he sagged against the white walls of the apartment. She was going to kill him he decided. He was already having trouble not imagining her stripping out of her clothes and stepping into his shower. He shook his head to clear his mind and set about finding them some food. He flicked through the takeout menus and settled on Chinese, since it was the only thing he knew she likes. _Besides chocolate_, he thought to himself and smiled as he remembered the look of shock on her face when he'd set that chocolate bar on the ADD. He frowned again and walked over to the photo album he kept in the living room. He opened it to the first page. _That's why you can't get close to anyone_, he said to himself as he stared at the images of Cutter, Sarah and Danny smiling like there was nothing in the world they had to worry about. It hurt too much when he lost them, and he would lose more friend s in the years to come. It was something he couldn't avoid. He shut the album with a snap and placed it back in its normal spot. He walked over to the phone and placed an order with his favorite Chinese restaurant.

**Jess' POV**

She couldn't believe she was standing in Becker's shower. The hot water poured out of the massaging showerhead relaxing the tension out of her neck and shoulders. Jess absorbed the feeling of safety as she began to wonder if this situation was a dream come true or a nightmare. She had a huge crush on Becker, which he most likely knew about, hell the whole ARC had probably figured it out. Staying at his house created whole new ways for her to embarrass herself. _ Oh well, _she thought to herself turning off the water, after realizing she was using up all the hot water, _I might as well make the best of it._ Jess yawned, not realizing just how tired she was until she stepped out of the shower. She toweled off and looked for the PJ's she'd brought with her. She almost stopped breathing when she saw there weren't any clothes on the sink. Frantically she looked around the bathroom hoping they'd just fallen of the sink only to realize she hadn't brought any in with her. It usually didn't matter since she had an on suite bathroom at home, but this had catastrophe written all over it. Jess took a moment to try and figure out what to do. She figured she could make a run for it since her room was just down the hall. She just hoped Becker was busy in the living room. She took a deep breath and walked into the hall, just as Becker rounded to corner. They both stood immobilized staring at each other. Jess noticed for the first time that Becker had taken off his jacket and was wearing just a black under shirt and jeans. She guess that he must have been changing when she called and thrown on his jacket to rush to help her. Jess watched as his eyes ran over her his mouth hanging open a little in shock. She bit her lip in embarrassment and he spun around.

"Uh," he said quietly trying to clear his throat, "There's food on the table." Jess started edging her way towards her room.

"Thanks," she said when she was within reach of the door. She stepped inside and closed the door quickly before smacking herself in the head with her palm.

"Brilliant Jess. Oh course you should make a run for it. It's only a few feet." She scolded herself as she slipped into a tank and a pair of small sleep shorts. She tossed the towel on top of her suitcase and hugged one of the pillows to her chest. She groaned at the awkward moment she knew was coming when she went back outside and fell onto her side in the middle of the bed.

**Becker's POV**

The food had already arrived and he'd set up what was pretty much a buffet. The water had been shut off a while ago after what had been a pretty long shower, which she deserved. Becker figured it was safe to knock on her door and let her know there was food. He turned the corner into the hall just as Jess stepped out of the bathroom wearing nothing but an incredibly small towel. For a moment they stood there stock still staring at each other, both at a loss of what to say. Becker watched a flush start at her toes, which he noticed were painted a light blue, and travel upwards to where her damp hair dangled around her shoulders curling slightly. Jess bit her bottom lip as the blush hit them and he swallowed hard.

"Damn," he said and quickly turned around. "Uh," he said quietly trying to clear his throat, "There's food on the table."

"Thanks," he heard her say. He didn't turn around until he heard her door shut with a click. He rested his head against the wall with a groan. This was definitely going to be torture.

It had been fifteen minutes since the incident in the hall and Becker was quickly getting a little worried when she didn't come out to eat. He sighed and stood up, making his way towards her room. He knocked lightly on her door.

"Jess?' he said softly, he decided to risk it when there was no answer and turned the knob slowly. He stuck his head in the door cautiously, very much like he did when he was clearing a room during a creature incursion. Jess was fast asleep on the bed wrapped around one of the pillows. He crept quietly over to the bed and pulled the covers over her, then left the room before he did something he'd regret. Like kiss her goodnight.

After cleaning up all the food, he decided it was time to get to work on Jess' problem. He switched on the laptop he'd brought from the ARC. It was linked with Jess' email so he and Connor could monitor the messages sent from the Dead Man Walking, as Connor had dubbed him after seeing Becker's face post meeting. Becker thought the name fitting seeing as he wanted to kill the guy. Jess' email popped up on screen automatically and Becker's face darkened as he saw the messages. A few were new instant messages that he ignored, they were just more of the same creepy rambling about how they were destined to be together and all that rubbish, it was the new email that caught his eye. He opened the attachment and nearly threw the computer against the room. Pictures of Jess kept popping up on the screen, including a few of her threw her bedroom window, fortunately she was dressed in all of them, he could only imagine how she would feel if he had taken pictures of her when she wasn't. Becker scowled as he looked at the variety of lighting, outfits and hairstyles in the pictures. Her stalker had known where she lived for quite a while. Becker turned off the computer with a growl and was putting it away with a little more force than necessary when, Jess' phone rang. He answered it without hesitation, knowing only one person called her on this number.

"Come near her and I'll put a bullet in your head," he snarled.

"Who is this?" the voice was garbled, like he was using some kind of distortion device.

"Her boyfriend, now stay the hell away from her." There was a pause on the line.

"I won't let you take her from me." The stalker said firmly.

"Watch me," Becker hung up the phone and turned it off. He sat on the couch and ran his hands over his face. _That probably wasn't the smartest thing to do_, he thought. But in the end he didn't really care as long as the guy came after him and not Jess.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks again for the reviews everyone. I absolutely love them. Someone asked for more romance and I promise it will show up soon. The next chapter's already in my head so I'm hoping it will be posted within the next few days.**

**Jess' POV**

Jess felt the morning light coming through the windows, creating a patch of warmth on her cheek. She kept her eyes tightly closed holding onto the moment when she could pretend that last few weeks had all just been a bad dream. Her nose picked up the scent of waffles and maple syrup drifting through the house. She heard Becker curse in the kitchen and gave up the pretext of sleep. She stretched her arms over her and the blanket fell away from her body. A frown creased her forehead as she tried to remember covering herself before she fell asleep. Her eyes went wide when she remembered the embarrassingly lovely towel incident from the night before. She groaned and fell back against the pillows. The clock on the nightstand read 6:30 in large red numbering, and she wondered how long Becker had been awake. With a sigh she pushed the covers off and got out of bed. The hardwood floor was cold on her still warm feet, so she quickly dug around in her suitcase for a pair of socks to wear. After brushing her teeth, she hesitantly peeked around the corner into the main living area. Jess wasn't sure she'd ever seen Becker look sexier than he did at that moment. His pajama pants hung low on his hips and he hadn't bothered to put on the shirt that was hanging on the back of one of the chairs. Jess saw an advantage that she rarely got and felt she had to take advantage of it. She snuck a little farther into the kitchen and she smiled when Becker cursed again. His back was to her and she was sure that he didn't know she was there.

"Morning Jess," he said without turning away from what he was looking at. Jess hid her disappointment at not getting to startle him like he constantly did to her.

"I didn't know you could cook," she said walking over to where the steaming waffles were sitting on a serving dish.

"I can't really," Becker said with a wry smile holding up the frozen waffle box before putting it back in the freezer. "I hope you like waffles."

"It's okay, I'm easy," she said without thinking and saw Becker freeze. "I'm easy to please I mean," she stammered when she realized how her words could be taken. Becker closed the freezer and looked at her with that look that was oh so patently Becker. Her heart had always seemed to skip a beat when he lifted his eyebrow and it only seemed to be getting worse. She blushed. "I'm going to shut up now." She said as she forked a few of the delicious smelling waffles onto her plate and covered them with syrup. She saw the corners of Becker's mouth quirk and was beyond happy that he decided to let her verbal misstep slide. She dug into her waffles with relish not having realized how hungry she was having missed dinner the night before. Becker started to say something, but was efficiently cut off by his phone ringing. He pushed away from the table with a frown and pulled the phone away from the wall charger.

"Becker," he said. He was silent for a few moments while the person on the other end of the line spoke. "All right. We'll be there in twenty minutes." Becker hung up the phone and dumped the last of his waffles in the trash bin.

"What is it?" Jess asked twisting around in her chair to get a better look at him.

"Lester wants us at the ARC to discuss your security detail." He said. Jess dropped her fork onto her plate with a clatter.

"What security detail?" she managed to squeak. She had the sudden image of being flanked by multiple armed soldiers at every minute. Becker grabbed the shirt off the back of the chair and started walking towards his room.

"The one keeping you safe."

Jess had a hard time ignoring the fact that Becker's hand was resting on the small of her back as he escorted her through ARC security and all the way to Lester's office. She didn't think he needed to keep his hand there, but maybe it was his way of making sure she was always within arm's reach. He'd hardly even looked at her since they'd left his flat. His eyes seemed to be constantly scanning for any sign of a threat. Once inside Lester's office Becker ushered her to a chair and took a stance by the door. Lester walked in a few minutes later carrying a file, that Jess was worried had something in it she wouldn't like.

"Don't worry Ms. Parker. This," he said tossing the file onto his desk, "has nothing to do with you. Now," Lester clapped his hands together, "Ms. Parker I need you to run a diagnostic on the ARC security cameras. The tech last night said he thought something was off." Jess looked confused and Lester sighed, "Go on." He said making a shooing motion with his hands. The FC recovered quickly and headed to the ADD her sky blue heels tapping on the tiled floor.

"Right," Lester said as the door closed behind her and he turned to Becker with an expectant look on his face, "What's this I hear about Jess staying at your place last night?"

**Becker's POV**

Becker sighed as Jess left the room and turned to his boss. Lester was leaning on his desk waiting for an explanation to the cryptic message Becker had left on his cell phone this morning.

"The stalker sent Jess a package in the mail," he said. Whatever Lester had expected to hear, that wasn't it. The sarcastic mask he wore slipped for a second and Becker got to see just how furious he was that one of his people was in danger. It was only gone for a second before the mask was safely back in place.

"Well," he said after a moment, "that's damned inconvenient." Becker shifted uncomfortably.

"There's more," he said.

"Of course there is," Lester sighed squeezing the bridge of his nose as if warding off a large headache he knew was coming.

"I spoke to the stalker last night."

"Did you threaten to throw him into an anomaly?"

"No."

"Pity, we could have thrown him to the predators to save on paperwork." Becker managed to hide his smile at the image of him throwing the Dead Man Walking into an anomaly. Lester started searching on his desk for something and spoke to Becker without looking up. "What did you say to him?" Becker shifted again. He really didn't want to tell Lester that he'd said he was Jess' boyfriend. He wasn't really even sure why he'd said it in the first place, so he went the safer route.

"Only that she was being protected and that he should move on." He lied.

"Something I doubt he's going to do. So what's the plan?" Lester sat in his plush leather chair and crossed his hands together expectantly.

"She'll stay at my flat. That way he'll have to get through me." Lester stared thoughtfully at the Captain for a few seconds before nodding.

"Fine. Get her to agree with it and make sure you're armed at all times. Becker nodded and headed out the door quickly so Lester couldn't hear the, "I didn't give her much choice." He muttered under his breath.

Becker instantly headed to Connor's office, hoping the tech geek could help him find out who was after Jess. His journey was cut short when a hand shot out of an empty office and dragged him inside.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry this chapter is so short. I promise the next one will have more action, but I hope you enjoy this one in the meantime.**

**Becker's POV**

Becker could tell his opponent was smaller than him based on the size of the hand gripping the sleeve of his military issue jacket. Instinct took over and he instantly spun around to press his assailant against the wall. He felt a shock ripple through his body as he ended up pressed against soft curves. He had Jess against the wall with her hands pinned at the side of her head. Her eyes were wide with surprise and her lips were parted slightly as she took a few deep breaths. It took Becker a moment to remember that having Jess pinned to a wall was probably a bad idea, though his body seemed to have other ideas as it pushed closer for a few seconds. Becker dropped her hands first and took a step back, breathing a silent sigh of relief that her stalker hadn't found a way into the ARC. He crossed his arms and glared at her.

"Never startle a soldier Jess. It's not a good idea." He said trying to look serious when really he was trying to forget the feeling of her pressed against him. Jess rubbed her wrists with a dazed look on her face. Becker dropped his tough guy face and reached for her. He took her hands in both of his and rubbed his thumbs over the slightly reddened skin of her wrist. He was sorely tempted to kiss them, but figured having thrown her against a wall was a big enough sexual harassment case if he ever pissed her off.

"Jess? Are you alright?" He asked, his brow creased with a frown. His question and grip on her hands seemed to jolt her back to the world of the living. She swallowed and nodded quickly.

"I'm fine," she said, "It was my fault anyway. Surprising soldiers is probably a bad idea anyway." Becker raised an eyebrow, but wisely didn't point out that he'd said the same thing a few minutes ago. Jess shook her head and focused her attention back to him. She seemed to finally grasp the fact that Becker was still holding her hands and she jerked them away.

"I…, I should go." She stammered out and Becker curse himself for scaring her. He reached out and took hold of her arm as she passed him.

"Jess," he said as softly as he could to avoid scaring, or embarrassing her, any more than she already was. "I'm sorry. I didn't intend to frighten you.

"You didn't," Jess said, but Becker had a feeling she was just trying to make him feel better since she wouldn't look him in the eye. "I just…" Jess trailed off and sighed.

"Jess?" Becker said after a decent length of silence.

"I just don't want anyone else to know about what's going on. Okay?"

"I need to keep you safe," he said and suddenly hoped that she hadn't realized that he hadn't included the rest of the team in that statement.

"I don't want people to treat me differently." she said and dropped her eyes to the floor. She had that look on her face that made Becker wonder if she was really that vulnerable and innocent, or if she knew just how much that look made his heart squeeze inside his chest. He guessed it was the former, because she was too kind hearted to toy with people.

"I won't tell a soul, I promise." He said giving Jess one of his rare smiles. Jess smiled back, making him want to do anything to keep it on her face. Becker shook himself out of his thoughts and once again adopted the serious soldier attitude. "We'd better get back to work before Lester sends out a search party." He started for the door but turned before his feet stepped over the threshold. She looked so vulnerable standing there with her eyes glued to the floor, trying to hide the flush of color on her cheeks. Color he'd put there by scaring her half to death. "Don't leave the ARC without me for any reason. Alright?" he said, then frowned when she smiled and pushed passed him.

"Oh Becker, who knew you were such a softy." She teased walking out the door leaving Becker to watch her , surprised at how easily she could make him smile.

"I didn't hear a promise," he shouted after her. Jess just waved over her shoulder and disappeared around the corner.

**Jess' POV**

Jess waited until she was safely out of Becker's line of sight before collapsing against the wall. She had no idea how she'd managed to keep her wits about her, she pressed her hands to her flushed cheeks. She hadn't even thought of how he might react, she'd just wanted to talk to him about what they were going to do about the stalker story at the ARC. The last thing she'd expected was to be trapped between a wall and Becker. He thought he'd scared her, but the blush on her face, and she suspected most of her body, wasn't from fear. She shuddered pleasantly at the memory of him pushing into her harder for a second before backing up.

"Get a hold of yourself," she scolded out loud, then quickly glanced both ways down the long corridor to make sure there hadn't been any one around to hear her talking to herself. She sighed and tried to focus on things that should be more important. Like the person doing their best to make her life a living hell. She pulled the folded photo out of her pocket and stared at the words that were scrawled across it. It baffled her as to why she'd taken it, she'd reached down stuffed it in her pocket yesterday when Becker had stuck his head into the hall to make sure the coast was clear. It hadn't been a conscious choice, it was just suddenly in her hand and than in her pocket. She wanted to rip it up and throw it away, but she couldn't bring herself to actually do it. She'd been pretending it hadn't been going on for so long that she'd needed something to make it real. The picture and chocolates had done just that. It went from annoying and sometimes frightening phone calls, to something that could be held. Or hurt.

"Maybe it's time to figure out who it is," she said to herself. She hurried towards the op room, a plan forming in her mind.

**Becker's POV**

Connor was right where Becker figured he would be. The young computer wiz had his head bent over the keyboard of the laptop he'd been given the day he'd come back to officially work for the ARC again.

"Connor," Becker said walking up behind him. Connor squeaked in surprise and fell out of his chair, papers flying into the air. Becker did his best to hide his laughter, but he was pretty sure Connor could see his shoulders shaking.

"Jesus mate, do you ever make noise?" Connor asked fighting to stand. He slipped on a piece of paper that had floated down just a second before and Becker gave up.

"It's not that funny," Connor grumbled from his resumed seat on the floor, glaring at the soldier who was now doubled over in laughter. Becker schooled his face to stone once more, thanks to an abundance of military training, and held out a hand to help Connor up.

"It really was actually," he said. Connor ignored him and picked up the papers that lay scattered on the ground.

"All right Action Man. What do you need?" He asked, smiling at the frown on Becker's face.

"I want you to find Jess' stalker." Becker said. Connor stared at him for a moment.

"Straight to the point I see. How do you want me to do that?"

"I don't know. Do some fancy computer thing to track him down." Becker said waving a hand at the computer sitting on Connor's desk. Connor just smiled, clearly enjoying having the upper hand against Becker for once.

"Connor, just shut up and…" Whatever Backer had been about to say was drowned out by the blaring of the anomaly alert. Both he and Connor sprinted towards the op room without another word.


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter came out a little different than I had intended, but I think it's pretty awesome and I hope you enjoy it. The chapters seem to be flying now so I'm hoping the next one will be up pretty quickly. Now, on with the evening's entertainment.**

**Jess' POV**

Jess typed on the keyboard of the ADD, carefully hacking her way into the CCTV system of the school.

"Having any flashbacks yet Becker?" Connor snickered over the head set. Jess could hear Becker growl at Connor and had a hard time laughing at the sound.

"Leave him alone Connor," she said still making her way through the complex components of the school's security system.

"Too soon?" Connor asked, sounding obviously confused. Jess smiled at the question and at the fact that she could now see the glare Becker was giving Connor.

"All right, I have a visual on you guys and I'm looking for the anomaly site." Jess flicked through the different camera channels as she spoke, looking for the familiar sight if an open anomaly.

"Just make sure it's not in the cantina." Becker grumbled. Jess giggled at the sulky tone and tried to forget the last time Becker was caught in a school cantina. At the moment everyone was safe and in a relatively good mood which she really didn't want to spoil.

"I'm not sure I have much control over that," she said still giggling slightly. Luckily she was able to give him some good news.

"You're in luck Becker. It looks like it's in the gym. Hold on," Jess looked closely at the screen in front of her as a shape emerged from the anomaly. She had to bite her lip to keep from emitting a squeal, though it didn't succeed completely.

"Jess? What is it?" Becker's concerned voice filled her ear.

"Creature incursion in the gym."

"Can you describe the creature Jess?" Matt's familiar Irish lilt came over the com.

"Ponies!" she said trying, and failing, to keep a smile off her face. She sagged back in her chair relieved that it looked like no one would be in any real danger today.

"Come again?" Connor asked, disbelief obvious in his voice.

"They look just like ponies. Only really small."

"That's a new one," Abby said wryly. Jess switched the image on screen to show the cameras following the team. Abby hadn't lowered her weapon despite how relaxed she had sounded over the coms. The team began moving forward down the hallways, clearing any room they walked past. Jess could feel her gaze being drawn to Becker, who was looking as serious as he'd been since they first got the alert even. She was beginning to wonder if he ever let his guard down. It was his voice in her ear that brought her to her senses.

"Jess?" he said, "You still with us?" Jess floundered as she tried to recall what he'd said before she'd let her mind wander. In the end her concern for the team overrode her ego.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that."

"I asked if we were heading in the right direction." Becker said.

"The door to the gym should be about ten feet in front of you," she said checking the read outs on the screen. A moment later the team pushed open the doors and walked into the gym.

**Becker's POV**

The sight that welcomed them when they walked into the gym was one of the strangest Becker had ever seen. And that was saying a lot! At least thirty horse like animals, the tallest of which only reached his hip, were wandering around the gym. Abby giggled with glee next to him and he could still hear Jess basically cooing in his ear. He rolled his eyes and leaned towards Matt.

"What is it with girls and horses?" Becker asked him. Matt shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine." he said, his face deadpan as usual. Connor walked towards them taking his eyes away from where Abby was carefully hidden, so she could observe the creatures without disturbing them.

"Merychippus." he said. Matt nodded and Becker just looked at him with a blank look on his face.

"What?" Becker asked. He'd finally lowered his rifle, but he refused to completely relax until the anomaly was locked, or better yet closed.

"The ponies. Merychippus Insignis. They lived nearly all over The States during the Miocene."

"They're adorable," Jess sighed in his ear. He shivered slightly, suddenly reminded of her breath against his ear when she'd held him in the ARC gym. Becker shook his head to erase the memory and at the fact that girls got so gooey eyed at the sight of something even remotely cute.

"Adorable or not we need to get them back through and lock that thing." he said pointing at the still unlocked anomaly. Connor seemed to notice the glowing lights for the first time.

"Right," he said pointing at it then looking around for the locking device. Becker smacked his palm against his forehead. He looked at the team leader who was smirking at the amusing sight of Connor picking his way through the herd of minuscule ponies.

"Any ideas on how-" Becker cut off with a yelp.

**Jess' POV**

Jess watched as the largest of the Merychippus wandered up behind Becker unseen and it seemed to look Becker up and down while he was busy talking to Matt. She was about to warn him when the little creature stretched out his neck and grabbed a mouthful of Becker's rear end. Jess broke down laughing as the taciturn Captain yelped and jumped out of reach.

"I don't think that's ever getting old." she heard Matt say. It was very difficult for Jess not to laugh when Becker was rubbing the sore spot and checking to see if the tiny horse had managed to tear a chunk of his pants away.

"Everything's still there Becker," Jess said unable to keep the mirth from her voice. Becker looked up at the camera and glared at her through the lens, which just made Jess laugh even more.

"Everyone wants a piece of you mate," Connor chirped from his position by the anomaly device. He hadn't noticed two of the smaller horses were at that moment chewing on the bag he'd left by his feet and Jess certainly wasn't going to tell him. He eventually found out when Abby couldn't hold her laughter in any more when one of the ponies pulled out the extra set of boxers Connor had packed that morning and forgotten to put in his locker.

"Hey," he shouted as he lunged for the creature, who nimbly side stepped him and trotted off to share her newfound toy causing another round of laughter from the team. Even Becker joined in, though his response was a little less enthusiastic than the others. Jess figured it was because his ass still hurt, not that he'd ever admit it. Connor sat on the ground looking a bit like a sulky child.

"Any one got any ideas how to get these things back through?" Becker asked over the fading laughter. Abby was the first to come to sober up, she walked over to where the guys were standing still wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Well, they seem to behave like a modern herd of horses, so if we can get the stallion through the mares should follow." She said.

"All right," Becker said scanning the room for any indication of which creature he should try to grab. "Which one is it?"

"I think it's the one who left teeth marks on your butt mate," Connor said from the safety of his position by the anomaly. Becker glared at him and could hear Jess doing her best not to laugh. He sighed. _At least this has gotten her mind off her stalker_, he thought. Becker refused to call him Dead Man Walking, or DMW as Connor had shortened the nickname to when he realized how much time it took to say. He didn't want silly names to distract from just how serious the situation really was.

"I can still shoot you from here Connor," Becker said warningly. Connor quickly ducked his head and went back to work calibrating the locking device.

"Enough bickering you two," Jess said like a mother scolding her children, "Get them through the anomaly and come home. " Becker didn't let himself think about what it would be like to come home to Jess every night, it would be too painful knowing it could never happen. He was going to die on the job, that much he knew, and there was no way he was going to subject anyone he cared about to that kind of pain. Shaking the morose thoughts from his head he turned his attention back to finding the stallion. Becker smiled when he saw him standing right in front of the anomaly and a slightly petty idea of revenge came to him. He reached over and picked up a red rubber ball that children used to play dodge ball and threw it as hard as he could. It hit the stallion right on the butt startling him enough to have him running back through the anomaly as fast as his little legs could carry him. The mares ran after him surprisingly fast for animals who only stood about two feet tall, though Connor did manage to retrieve his slightly mangled boxers at that particular Merychippus ran past him. Connor locked the anomaly as soon as the last one went through and Becker stationed two members of the containment team to guard it until it closed. He and the rest of the team headed for the cars parked at the school entrance, they were all smiling at the fact that Connor was still grumbling about his ruined boxers.

"Jess, the area's secured and we're on our way back," Matt told Jess over the coms.

"Copy that I'll…" Jess trailed off and Becker shared a quick look of concern with Connor and Abby.

"Jess? You okay?" Becker asked.

"He sent a picture to my phone," she said her voice shaking slightly. The mood of the entire team quickly grew serious.

"What's it of?" Connor asked before Abby could stop him. She smacked him upside the head and rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's lack of tact.

"My bedroom," she said quietly. Becker felt the blood in his body begin to boil.

"He probably took it through a window. Leave the phone in Connor's office," he said as he wrenched the door to the car open. Jess' next words has his blood running cold.

"No, he was in the flat."

"Are you sure Jess?" Abby asked, the look on her face told Becker she didn't want to believe it. She wasn't the only one.

"It was taken from the bedroom door."


	9. Chapter 9

**I guess I was right when I said the next chapter would be up fast. I just couldn't stop writing! I hope you enjoy it. Sorry this one's so short.  
**

**Becker's POV**

Becker reclined on the bed in one of the bedrooms of the company apartment. He'd checked all the windows and doors, and then set the alarm system so he would know if someone entered the moment they did. Now all that was left was to wait, and oh how he hated that part. Surprisingly there had been very little contact from the stalker since he'd had Jess give her phone to Connor. It was both a blessing and a curse, since Jess was now relaxing a bit more, but she also seemed to think that the danger might be disappearing as well. She was starting to pester him about going out somewhere. He knew she hated being locked up, or gilded cage as she liked to call it, hell normally he'd hate it too but he didn't mind as long as Jess was here and safe. Becker glanced over at the thin wall that separated their rooms and he knew Jess was getting settled in the other bedroom down the hall. If he closed his eyes Becker could imagine the sound of silk sliding over her skin, and he smell the scent of her shampoo as she let her hair fall out of that severe bun that she'd had it in all day. Becker rubbed his hands over his face, trying to erase the images from his mind. His thoughts had been drifting into that territory more than usual over that last few days. He couldn't allow anything, not even his own feelings, to jeopardize her safety.

"Becker!" Jess' scream was followed by a familiar sound that had Becker running to the door of his bedroom, grabbing his gun off the nightstand as he went. He wasn't sure where the shot had come from and headed in the direction of Jess' room, but the sight of a pale slim leg peeking out from the protection of the couch stopped him and had his blood running cold. Becker slowed instinctively watching the room for any threats. The only sounds were his breathing and the slow drip of the kitchen faucet. He could remember Jess complaining that the constant trickle was going to keep her awake.

"_It's like Chinese water torture,"_ she'd said with an adorable smile. Becker prayed to every god he could think of that he'd have a chance to see that smile again. The scent of iron grew stronger the closer Becker got to the couch. For the first time he could remember, since he was a recruit, Becker felt his stomach roll. When he glanced over the couch, he dropped his gun and ran to Jess' side. Her eyes stared, unfocused at the ceiling, blood soaking her pale blue blouse and pooling on the floor beneath her. Becker felt his eyes begin to water and he pulled Jess' still warm body into his lap. She was dead, he'd failed and he'd been right. It was worse than anything he'd ever felt before. He buried his face in Jess' neck and began to sob. The scuff of a shoe behind him alerted Becker to the presence of another person and the press of cold steel against the back of his neck told him it was too late.

"I told her you wouldn't take her from me," the man said, and pulled the trigger.


	10. Chapter 10

**I'll comment at the end.  
**

Becker woke up with a gasp, drenched in sweat and barely able to keep from putting a hand to his racing heart. He glanced at the alarm clock next to him, the large number read 4:13. He sighed and threw the covers off. The gun that normally stayed in his nightstand was already in his hand by the time he stood up. Becker's feet padded softly on the hardwood floor as he headed the familiar path from his room to Jess'. He sighed in relief when he saw Jess sleeping contentedly under the light purple bedspread she'd bought. He smiled in the doorway like he did every night he checked on her, which was every night, looking at the small changes she'd made to his guest room. She'd taken his invitation to make herself at home to heart, after he told her that they didn't honestly know how long it would take to catch her stalker. She'd added subtle hints of color, though nothing along the lines if what he'd seen at her house, and a few framed pictures that made the room looked lived in but not cluttered. It made his stark living arrangements look sad in comparison.

Becker walked closer to the bed where Jess slept so he could see her breathing. The steady rise and fall of her chest settled him for reasons he wasn't ready to think about. He made his way to the living room as quietly as he could and let out the breath he'd been holding as the tension melted away from his neck and shoulders. He'd had the same nightmare every night since Jess had come to stay with him. Some details changed from dream to dream, but the message was basically the same. He failed and Jess paid for it with her life. There was only one time that she hadn't died, she'd been raped instead. Becker had woken up that night and immediately stumbled to the bathroom to empty his stomach. He'd heaved for a good five minutes after everything had left his belly, like his body was trying to physically get rid of the images in his head. Sitting in the bathroom he'd sworn that would never happen to her. Becker closed his eyes as the images made their way back into his head. The clock on the wall told him it was 4:35 in the morning and he knew he needed to get back to sleep. He resigned himself to the fact that he was looking at another nightmare tonight. He was too tired to try and force his way through another day with little to no sleep, so. He punched his pillow to soften it up, and to let loose a little anger, and did his best to relax.

A pillow hitting him in the head woke him up for the second time since last night.  
"Wake up Becker," Jess called from his bedroom door, "We're gonna be late." Becker heard the toaster ding and Jess walked back into the kitchen. Becker rubbed his eyes with a groan. He really hoped there was no alert today, because he didn't think he'd be up for it.

**Jess' POV**

Jess walked into Connor's office later that morning with a file Phillip had asked her to take to him. She was surprised to find the office empty.

"I bet he's with Abby," she said to herself. Not wanting to make the trip down to the menagerie Jess shrugged and set the file on top Connor's laptop where was sure to see it . A ringing stopped her at the door. Her phone sat on the lighted desk moving slightly as it vibrated. Jess' hand itched to pick it up for the first time. She looked down the hall to make sure Connor wasn't heading back to the office. When she saw the coast was clear she grabbed the phone.

"We will never be together, so stop calling me," she told him putting as much strength and conviction into her tone as she could. The voice coming over the line gave her goose bumps.

"He'll never love you like I do," the distorted voice said. Jess faltered at the words.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, completely confused as to what he was talking about.

"The one who said he was your boyfriend," Jess' eyes went wide at his statement. She put her hand over the microphone for a second while she tried to figure out what had happened.

"Becker," she said quietly careful to make sure her stalker couldn't hear her. She heard the voice in her ear.

"I'll make him regret the day he met you," he said.

"Go to hell," Jess hung up the phone and threw it back onto the desk where it skidded to the edge. She stormed out of the office nearly running over Connor in her haste.

"You okay Jess?" She heard him call after her, but she was too infuriated to answer. She stormed down the hall and into the locker room ignoring the strange looks she was getting from the other employees. No one had ever seen Jess this pissed off. Abby came in as Jess was pulling her stuff out her locker. She came over and put a hand on Jess' shoulder.

"Is everything okay Jess?" she asked. Jess nodded trying to fight off the tears that to spill.

"It's fine," she said, "Everything's fine." Jess summoned up one of her cheery smiles and kissed her friend on the cheek.

"I'm just a little tired," she lied, "I'm gonna go get some rest." Jess left the locker room quickly before Abby could say anything else. She hurried through security and walked out on to the busy London street. It only took her a minute to wave down a cab and soon she was whisked away from the ARC.

**Becker's POV**

Becker walked out of the armory after finishing up the monthly inventory, something he hated but he knew needed to be done. He was surprised he'd even been able to focus as tired as he was. He needed to find a way to get rid of the nightmares or he wasn't going to be any good to anyone. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't see Abby until he bumped into her. She nearly fell and his hands shot out to grab her. _Good to know my reflexes still work_, he thought to himself.

"Sorry Abby I was kinda wrapped up in my own world for a minute there." Becker said.

"What are you doing here?" Abby asked clearly confused. Becker frowned.

"Unless I went through an anomaly without realizing it I work here." He said. For a second Abby looked like she was torn between laughing and smacking him.

"I know that, but I thought you took Jess home," she said. Becker's stomach clenched and he squeezed Abby's arm a little tighter.

"What are you talking about?" he asked at nearly a growl. A look of horror dawned on Abby's face.

"I saw her getting her stuff out of her locker, she said she was just tired, but she was looked really upset." Without another they both took off towards the ADD. Becker's heart dropped when they skidded to a stop and saw Connor at the controls. Abby walked up to the chair and spun it around, nearly unseating Connor in the process.

"Whoa," he shouted, "Jesus Abby, warn a guy fir…" he trailed off when he saw Becker standing a few feet away looking murderous. "Why is he still here?" he asked Abby pointing.

"Why are you at the ADD?" she asked him ignoring his question. Connor looked back and forth between the two people staring at him with their arms crossed.

"Jess said she wasn't feeling well and asked me to take over for her," he said a little worried Becker was going to lose it and kill him. "Maybe she's looking for you," he said to Becker as he spun around and pulled up the CCTV footage for the entrance. He deflated as he saw Jess walk out and get in a cab. "Or maybe she just left." Becker took off at a run for the locker room.

"She left fifteen minutes ago Becker," Abby's voice came through his ear piece as he ripped open his locker and grabbed his keys, ignoring everything else in the locker.

"Tell Lester what happened," he said sprinting past security and heading directly for his truck. The tires actually squealed as he raced out of the garage.

"Should we send back up?" Connor asked joining into the conversation. Becker was seriously tempted to say yes, but the rational part of him realized there wasn't a reason to. _Yet_, the paranoid part of him argued. Becker slammed his hand against the steering wheel when he hit a red light. He was going to kill Jess when he found her or better yet he'd lock her in her room and never let her out again.

"Becker?" Becker growled as Connor's voice spoke in his ear again.

"No back up. Yet," Becker bit out, "We don't know if she's actually in trouble or not." His hand clenched the steering wheel with a death grip while he waited for the lights to change. He hit the gas pedal hard as soon as the light changed, roaring through the intersection and pulling into the small parking lot near his flat. Becker pulled the spare EMD out from under the passenger seat and cursed the fact that he didn't have a real gun. He ran up the stairs and nearly ran into the door when it failed to open at the simple turn of the knob. Becker fervently hoped that this meant Jess was safe, and had really gone home because she was tired. He pulled out his keys as quietly as he could just in case Jess wasn't alone in the flat. He would need the element of surprise if that ended up being the case. He pushed the door open slowly and walked into the nearly silent flat. There were noises coming from Jess' room. Becker relaxed when he realized Jess was talking to herself. His fear was quickly replaced by anger as he clicked the lock shut and stalked to Jess' room. He stopped at the doorway and watched her for a moment, part of him wanted to scare her as bad as she'd scared him. She had her suitcase on the floor next to the dresser and was stuffing her things into it as fast as she could. Becker had seen enough.

"What the he'll were you thinking?" he said advancing on her, only to stop short when she spun around and slapped him. Whatever he had expected, it wasn't that. He stared at her in shock for a full minute, not exactly sure what to do. He'd never seen Jess even a little angry, let alone angry enough to hit him.

"What is wrong with you?" she screamed at him. Becker recovered quickly enough to catch her hand as she tried to slap him again. He spun her around so he could pin her hand against the wall. She flailed at him with her free hand. Becker struggled, but managed to trap her other hand as well. He moved in close, just in case Jess decided to throw a knee into the mix. Jess seemed to calm down after a minute, though she was breathing harder than normal and her clothes were rumpled from the struggle. Becker looked her in the eye.

"I'll let go if you promise not to hit me again," he said slowly, still having a hard time believing the 360 change in her attitude. Jess nodded and Becker let go, only to stumble back when Jess pushed him.

"Why did you do it?" she asked him. Becker had a hard time not squirm under her hurt gaze, he quickly forgot his anger and focused on figuring out what Jess was talking about.

"Do what?"

"Why did you tell that wanker that you're my boyfriend?" she shouted. Becker tried really hard not to blush, because there really wasn't a simple answer for that. Not one that was true anyway. He decided to play it safe and lie.

"I was hoping it would take the focus off you for a while." He said with a shrug. Jess glared at him.

"You're an idiot," she said. Becker shrugged again, which he could tell was only making Jess angrier.

"My job is protect you and the team, no matter the cost." He said. Jess rolled her eyes.

"Okay so you're a self-sacrificing idiot," she said, "Did you ever stop to think that maybe we don't want you get hurt?"

"I don't-" Becker started to say before Jess cut him off.

"Don't you dare say you don't matter. We all care about you, even if you can't see it." Jess walked over to her suitcase and slammed the top shut.

"I'm not letting you put yourself in danger because some idiot had decided to fancy me," she said as she started dragging the case towards the door. Panicking when he realized she was trying to leave Becker placed himself between her and the door. Jess tried to push past him, but he was determined to keep her in the safety of his home. Jess threw her hands in the air.

"Let me go Becker," she said, they were so close he could see the tears forming in her eyes. He shook his head. Jess pushed at him again.

"I can't stay here Becker. I can't see you get hurt. Please let me go." She begged. Becker took her suit case and sent it sliding across the floor to rest back by the dresser. Jess looked like she was ready to tear her hair out in frustration, and it took every ounce of strength Becker had not to wrap her in his arms and never let go.

"You're not leaving," he said starting to get a little worked up. He was used to people following his orders, and Jess was beginning to test his patience. "I have to protect you." He knew it sounded a little lame, but he said it anyway.

"So you can protect me, but I can't try and do the same?" Becker nodded.

"That's stupid. You may not care about me and this all may just be a job to you but-" Jess never got to finish what she was trying to say.

**Jess' POV**

Jess was cut off midsentence by Becker's lips crashing down on hers, hard. Becker slammed her against the wall as his mouth devoured hers. Jess reacted instantly, kissing him with a matching hunger and digging her nails into his back and neck. Becker growled low in his throat and fisted a hand in her hair, making her whimper at the pleasure pain it caused. His lips trailed down her neck kissing and biting, sending spears of pleasure racing through her body. She pressed her body forward, trying to get as close to him as possible and was rewarded when he pressed her more firmly against the wall, one of his thighs between hers.

"Becker," she gasped throwing her head back at the intimate contact. She pulled at his hair desperate to get his lips against hers again and Becker complied with a soul shattering kiss. Jess nipped at his lower lip when he tried to pull away and the next thing she knew she was being thrown on the bed. Becker stood at the foot of the bed staring at her in a way that made her skin tingle like he was actually touching her. After a minute he ripped his shirt over his head and threw it to the side and it was Jess' turn to look her fill. Jess ran her gaze over the defined chest and stomach, waiting for what he was going to do next, before she realized he was waiting for some kind of signal that this could continue. Her fingers rose to the buttons of her blouse and began to slowly unclasp them one by one. Becker's eyes followed her movements hungrily, his fists clenched at his side, before grabbing her ankles and dragging her towards him. He pushed her hands away from the halfway undone shirt and ripped it the rest of the way off. Jess gasped at the animalistic action and grabbed him by the back of the head to pull him down for another kiss. Her skirt was pushed up around her waist and somehow he'd gotten her panties off without her even realizing it. She reached between them for his belt and unbuckled it, pushing his pants down in the same movement. Then he pressed into her slowly, inch by inch, a torturous pleasure that Jess didn't think she'd survive if he didn't hurry up. She did the only thing she could think of and bit him at the curve of his neck and shoulder. With a growl he thrust into to her hard before beginning an intense rhythm that had them both panting in seconds. She met him thrust for thrust, both of them pouring all the tension and passion that had been building up for the last few weeks into their wild lovemaking. Jess bit into his shoulder again to keep from screaming as pleasure rushed through her. A moment later Becker collapsed, breathing heavily his weight pressing her down into the mattress.

Ultimately Becker rolled off of Jess, much to her disappointment and pulled her into his arms. Jess went willingly, exhausted after what was easily the best sex of her life and snuggled against his sweat covered chest. She was asleep in moments, but she thought she felt Becker kiss the top of her head before she drifted off.

**A/N: Sorry for breaking it up. I just wanted there to be an OMG moment. So I hope there was a moment people were worried I might have killed them off. If not, oh well. I'll get the next chapter up ASAP.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay so this is kind of a fluff chapter. Emotional Becker, comforting Jess with a little bit of smut. Fear not the creepiness and action (of the violent sort *wink*)will return soon. Enjoy.**

**P.S. last chapter was my first attempt at smut ever, so I hope it was good.**

**Becker's POV**

Becker was cold, but it was the first time he hadn't had the nightmare as soon as he closed his eyes so he really didn't care. However if he was cold then Jess would be too. Becker rubbed his eyes with one hand trying to get them to fully open, and took in the sight that greeted with a mixture of happiness and regret. Jess was wrapped around him still asleep, her hair had fallen across her face brushing Becker's chest. He registered a slight tickle every time she breathed out causing the strands to dance across his lips were still flushed pink and swollen from the ferocity of his earlier kisses. It made her look incredibly sexy, but Becker did have a bit if a bias since he was the one who'd given that satisfied look. His eyes drifted to the hand that was resting directly over his heart. He frowned at the bruise he could see beginning to form. The caveman in him roared with pride at the fact that he'd marked his mate, but the gentleman regretted treating her so roughly. _Not that she seemed to mind_, he thought to himself rubbing the deep bite mark on his shoulder. He never would have pegged Jess as the biting type, but he definitely wasn't complaining. The first time Jess had sunk herteeth into the crook of his neck Becker could have sworn his eyes had rolled back in his head. He was reluctant to move, afraid he would wake her, but he was naked and she very nearly was. He shifted slightly, reaching for the blanket that had crumpled at the foot of the bed. Jess sighed and snuggled closer without waking up making him smile. Grabbing the blanket without waking Jess proved difficult, but not impossible. Soon enough they were both tucked under the blanket and Becker pulled Jess a little closer. Not worried about nightmares for the first time in a week he drifted off to sleep.

He jerked awake at the sound of shattering glass. He scooped his boxers off the floor and sped towards the kitchen, only slowing down when he saw Jess cleaning up the shards of glass from the kitchen floor. She looked unbelievable wearing his shirt and the sight made him want to drag her back to bed.

"You alright?" He asked. Jess didn't look away from her task as she answered.

"Totally," as soon as the words were out of her mouth Becker knew they were a lie. She was moving stiffly and Becker winced again at the harsh treatment she'd endured from him. His heart sank as he realized she probably regretted sleeping with him, something he could never regret.

"Jess-," he started.

"Do you have a vacuum," she asked not moving from where she stood. It took Becker a moment to register the change in conversation and to realize it wasn't a good idea for her to move until they had all the glass cleared. He nodded when she looked at him, happy that they'd finally made eye contact. When he'd finally freed the vacuum from of all the jackets that had been thrown over it Jess was back to looking at anything but him. Becker felt his heart sink at the thought of losing her just when he'd finally realized that he needed her in his life desperately. He handed her the vacuum and watched as she meticulously cleared the kitchen floor of glass. She handed the vacuum back to him without a word and he set it by the table, not wanting to walk away from her. Becker and Jess stood where they were, in an awkward silence that Becker had no idea how to interrupt. In the end he didn't have to.

"I'm gonna," Jess said waving in the general direction of the bedroom, "get dressed." she wouldn't look up as she tried to push her way past him. His arm wrapped around her waist before he even realized what he was doing, but he had to clear the air between them.

"Jess, I'm sorry about earlier. I..." he said. Jess cut him off before he could continue.

"It's alright," she said, Becker wondered if she even realized she was gripping his arm to her. "We can pretend it never happened if you want. I won't tell anyone, or expect anything," her voice was quivering a bit and it dawned on Becker for the first time that she might think he regretted the sex entirely. He shook his head and pulled her in closer so she was pressed against him. He dropped his head to rest on her shoulder, hoping she wouldn't pull away.

"I don't regret it Jess," he said pressing his lips to the soft curve of her neck. She shuddered slightly and Becker had to fight back a satisfied smirk at her reaction,

"Then why were you apologizing?" her voice was barely above a whisper, but he heard her anyway. His hands slid down to gently massage the bruised skin of her wrists.

"I just wish I'd done it differently." Becker stood there with his arms wrapped tightly around Jess enjoying the silence, and the feeling of holding her pressed against him.

"Becker. Why did you tell him you're my boyfriend?" Becker sighed and stepped away from the embrace. Jess took the opportunity to turn around and look at him. This time it was Becker who refused to make eye contact.

"Becker?" she asked taking a step towards him. She placed a hand on his arm and gave it an encouraging squeeze.

"Because I want to be," he said turning away from her and dropping onto the black couch. Jess followed him slowly, her confusion evident on her face.

"Is that really such a bad thing?"

"When you know it can never happen, then yes it's a bad thing." Becker said dropping his face into his hands.

"It can if you want it to," Jess said softly.

"No it can't Jess," he said sharply looking up at her. He softened his tone when he saw her face fall. "People around me tend to get hurt Jess, or die." he sighed running his hands through his hair. He wasn't comfortable talking like this, but he found that he couldn't stop. Not with Jess looking at him expectantly with those soft eyes.

"I don't want you to get hurt," Jess looked like she would interrupt, but Becker didn't give her the chance. "I've lost friends and I don't want you, or anyone, to feel that kind of pain when I get killed by some creature." There was no reason for him to leave a chance of him surviving when he knew the job would eventually kill him. It was the fact that he didn't mind that bothered him. He frowned, trying to remember when dying had become the expected outcome. Maybe it was after they'd lost Sarah that his hope had died as well. He looked up again, expecting to see Jess still standing at the arm of the couch, but found her standing directly in front of him. She pushed him back against the couch and settled onto his lap facing him. His hands automatically settled on the smooth skin of her thighs, squeezing slightly. She tilted his head until he was forced to meet her gaze and kissed him softly. Becker felt s rush of emotion he wasn't ready to face and he burrowed his face in the side of her neck. Jess let her arms fall around his neck as he pulled her closer.

"I'm not willing to give up the weeks, months, or even years that we could be happy together because there's a chance you could die," her breath tickled his ear as she spoke making a shiver race down his spine. Jess pulled back to look him in the eye again, and Becker almost groaned at the loss of contact. He opened his mouth to argue, but Jess was quicker placing a delicate hand over his mouth.

"If you had the choice, would you trade all the happy times you had with Sarah or Danny just to erase the pain of losing them?" she asked. It only took a few seconds for Becker to realize that he wouldn't. He shook his head slowly, making Jess smile.  
"So why aren't you willing to give me the same choice?" Becker couldn't come up with a good excuse for that question so he laid his forehead against hers.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said and was a little upset to hear how ragged his voice was. He'd gotten so used to keeping things bottled up that it was hard to accept that it was okay to feel.

"It makes me sick when I think of possibly losing you and I'm tired of not feeling anything." He said using one of his large hands to cup her jaw and brush the pad of his thumb across her dragged her hands down his chest leaving a trail of heat on his skin and bit her lip. Becker had to fight the urge to tub the lip away from between her teeth with his own. "I know whatever it is that we have didn't start out ideally, but will you give me a chance?"

Jess nodded and he kissed her. He'd meant for it to be a chaste kiss, however Jess apparently had other ideas. She deepened the kiss, tracing his lips with the tip of her tongue and sank deeper onto his lap. Becker twined his arms around her again and returned the kiss. There was a moment when he wished that their first kiss had been like this, but the thought was quickly swept from his mind when she lightly bit his lower lip. His hands drifted down to the hem of his borrowed shirt. He pulled away from the kiss for a moment.

"You look wonderful in my shirt by the way," he said with a smile. Jess giggled and leaned in closer.

"Would you like me better in it, or out of it?" she asked in a wickedly low whisper, nibbling on his ear. Becker groaned and his hands dug into Jess' hips as she managed to wriggle even closer.

"Definitely out of it," he said dragging the shirt in question over her head leaving her in just a pair of lacy red tried to pick them both up, intent on getting back to the bed, but Jess pushed him back down with surprising strength. He looked at her in surprise and she smiled coyly.

"I'm on top this time," she said.

"Yes ma'am," Becker responded, deciding he liked this side of Jess. He kissed her more firmly than last time and she rocked her hips against him eliciting a groan from the back of his throat. Becker ran hands slowly up her sides until he could cup her breasts. Jess gasped and arched into his touch as he massaged the sensitive skin. Her hips rocked harder against his hips at each rush of pleasure she felt. Her hands were traveling down towards the waist band of his boxer when his cell phone rang. Becker groaned when he recognized Connor's ring tone. Jess glared in the general direction of the ringing phone then looked back at Becker, who could read the question in her eyes.

"It's Connor," he said apologetically, "there could be an anomaly." Jess' eyes widened in understanding and she slid of Becker's lap, making him groan as her leg brushed across his erection.

"You did that on purpose." He accused, trying to glare at her and failing. Jess just smiled and stretched out on the couch putting her entire body on display to Becker, who nearly swallowed his tongue. Becker grumbled as he made his way to the phone.

"I'm gonna kill you Connor." He growled into the phone as soon as he flipped it open.

"Do it later," Abby said over the line, obviously she'd swiped her boyfriend's phone, "We've been calling you for over two hours. Is Jess okay." Becker instantly felt bad for snapping . He'd forgotten just how worried the team had been when Jess had left the ARC. He looked over to where Jess now sat on the couch, a slightly worried look on her face. She'd put his shirt back on, much to his disappointment.

"She'd fine Abby, " he said, "There's not an anomaly is there?"

"No," the blond said sounding impatient. Now put Jess on the phone." Becker held out the phone to Jess who instantly walked into the kitchen. She reached for the phone and Becker kissed her deeply before giving it to her. Jess swayed slightly, making Becker want to beat his chest in masculine pride.

"I'm fine Abby, really," Jess told her friend, "I didn't mean to scare anyone, I just wanted to go home for a bit." Jess looked at Becker and a coy smile danced across her lips when she saw that he was still painfully aroused. She turned around and leaned on the kitchen counter, giving Becker a full view of her red lace covered ass. Becker groaned and took an involuntary step towards her.

"Is Lester angry with me?" Becker heard her say, but at the moment all he could think of was getting her back to bed. He pressed against her and snatched the phone away.

"Hey," she protested smiling.

"She'll call you back Abs," he said and hung up before Abby could answer. He tossed the phone onto the couch and spun Jess around lifting her onto the counter at the same time. He stepped between her legs and kissed her thoroughly, pressing himself against her core. When he broke the kiss they were both panting.

"You can be in charge next time," he said picking her up. She laughed and wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the bedroom.


	12. Chapter 12

**I really can't stop writing this story, it's so much fun. Oh, well. Let me know what you think. Honestly, I love reviews and constructive criticism. :D  
**

**Becker's POV**

Becker woke the next morning with Jess wrapped around him. He smiled as her hair brushed across his chest from her breathing. The clock next to the bed told him it was time for both of them to wake up and get ready for work. Becker huddled back down in the blanket enjoying warmth coming from Jess. He'd rather stay ensconced in the flat with Jess for a few days, but the ARC was calling, literally. He could hear Connor's familiar ringtone drifting in from the kitchen. Becker rolled out of bed with a sigh doing his best not to wake Jess, who just snuggled deeper into the warm recesses of the comforter. Becker slipped on a pair of cotton drawstring pants and made his way out to the main area of the flat, trying to remember where he'd tossed his phone last night. He eventually found it between the couch cushions, it had stopped ringing once and he'd thought he'd lost it but trust Connor to keep calling until he picked up.

"What is it?" he asked and wasn't horrible surprised when Abby answered.

"Are you still pissed at Connor?" Becker winced at the reminder of how rude he'd been last night, but in the heat of the moment it had seemed like a good idea.

"He has really bad timing," Becker said. Abby chuckled on the other end of the line.

"He really does. Anyway, Lester wants to know if you and Jess are coming in to day." Becker cocked an eyebrow in response to the last thing she said.

"Did he actually say he'd let us have the day off?"

"Actually it was more like a tell them to get their asses here, question."

"Right, we'll be there in an hour." Becker hung up the phone and set it down on the counter gentler than he had the night before. Sighing his disappointment, Becker went to wake up Jess. To his surprise she was already in the shower, he hadn't known she could move that quietly. He was more than tempted to join her, but he knew they'd never get to work on time if he did. Instead he focused on making breakfast for the two of them, which took all of his concentration seeing as he wasn't a very good cook. The eggs he was working on took up so much of his focus that he nearly jumped when Jess wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed a kiss between his bare shoulder blades.

"Sorry," she said, not looking at all like she was. Becker frowned at her outfit. Her grey skirt was as short as ever and she was wearing a low cut pink sweater. She looked sexy as hell, but Becker was surprised by the long sleeves of the shirt. He had a feeling he knew why she'd suddenly foregone her usual short sleeves, and he didn't like it.

"How are your wrists Jess?" he asked folding his arms over his chest to keep from finding out for himself.

"They're fine," she said. Becker's eyes narrowed as she subconsciously tugged her sleeves down a little farther.

"Let me see," he ordered. Jess rolled her eyes and pulled up her sleeves showing Becker the dark bruises.

**Jess' POV**

Jess saw Becker deflate when he looked at her wrists. She could tell he still felt bad about being so rough.

"Hey," she said wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close. They stayed like that for a minute before Jess pulled back.

"I'm not made of glass you know," she said, "I can handle a little rough treatment now and then," Jess couldn't resist teasing him a bit and smirked. "I believe there's evidence on you that proves I even enjoy it." Becker didn't blush often, but this was one of those few times that Jess got to enjoy the sight of his cheeks turning red. Jess let go of him and walked over to turn off the burner under the eggs that were already looking a little overcooked.

"Then why the long sleeves," he pointed out.

"Because I don't want to have to make up an excuse when people ask about them," she said, "I like to keep my sex life just that. Mine." Becker raised an eyebrow in what Jess hoped was interest.

"Do I get any insight into your preferences?" he said, his voice coming out a low growl.

"I think you already got an introduction to them last night," she said with a twinkle in her eye. She poured them both a glass of orange juice and took a long drink, licking the remnants from her lips when she finished.

"How's your shoulder by the way?" Jess said with a coy smile, her eyes on the obvious bruise she'd left. It was kind of sexy when she thought about him walking around all day with her mark on him. She hadn't thought it was possible, but he got even redder.

"I need to get ready," he mumbled, gently pushing past her. Jess jumped when he slapped her firmly on the ass.

"That's for teasing," he whispered in her ear. Becker disappeared into the hall leaving Jess smiling in the kitchen. Jess decided this fun side of Becker was someone she wanted to see more of. She threw some sausages in a pan and waited for Becker to finish.

Breakfast went by quickly, mostly because they didn't have much time before they had to be at the ARC. Becker insisted on clearing the hallway before letting her out. Jess thought it was a bit over the top, but she let it go to make him feel better. He led her down the bright hallway her bright heels tapping quietly on the thinly carpeted floor.

"Heels really aren't the best shoes to wear when you're being stalked."

"But they make me look good," Jess said and was rewarded by a quirk of Becker's lips.

"They also give away your position every time you move." Jess started to answer, but was interrupted by a crash of shattering glass. Becker rushed to the door only to turn around and push Jess back up the stairs, pulling out his phone out as they ran. Jess was positive the only thing keeping her from doing a face plant onto the floor was Becker's hold on her arm. When she stumbled he simply swept her up and carried her up the stairs. Jess would have found it sexy, if she wasn't so confused about what the hell was going on. Becker set her down in front of his door, opened it and pushed her through in five seconds flat. He slammed the door closed and threw the bolt closed. He cursed under his breath as he pounded the keys on his phone.

"Becker? What's going on?" Jess asked feeling a little close to hysteria. She could hear sirens in the distance. It sounded like they were getting closer. She had started to walk to the window, curious about whatever was going on outside, but Becker's sharp voice stopped her.

"Stay away from the window's Jess." he said harshly, startling her enough that she stumbled back.

"Sorry, it's just...," he stopped and Jess could hear a voice on the other end of the line.

"Jess and I need a ride to the ARC." he said. Jess looked at Becker confusion written on her face. Becker put the call on speaker to include Jess in the conversation.

"And what is wrong with your mode of transportation?" Lester's dry voice filled the room. Becker looked at Jess when he answered.

"Someone set it on fire."


	13. Chapter 13

**I know a bunch of you probably hate me right now for the teaser I pulled but I am really sorry. I didn't feel the first version was good enough so I rewrote it. I hope you like it.**

**Becker's POV**

The target exploded in a hail of gunfire, leaving bits of paper floating back down to the cement floor of the ARC firing range. Becker took the now empty clip out of the G36 and replaced it with a fresh one. He turned the safety on and held down the black button on the wall next to him, pulling the target towards him. As soon as he had a new target set up he opened fire, picturing the smirking face of the stalker. _A face you've never seen_, the traitorous voice in his head said. He snarled and pulled the trigger for a double tap to the head. With a sigh he set the safety and dropped the machine gun to the table in front of him. This wasn't helping his mood any, much to his surprise. He leaned back against the table and rubbed his hands across his face. This morning had been more eventful than he had expected. It had taken twenty minutes for the car to arrive after he called Lester, and he'd spent the time trying to convince Jess to stay at the company flat with Abby and Connor. She'd refused.

_"Just think about it Jess," He'd said after hanging up the phone. Lester had assured them that a car was on the way over. Jess was busy pacing across the living room, she'd taken her heels off during the second lap and Becker could only stare at the pale blue nail polish on her toes._

_ "Would you be coming too?" she stopped pacing only long enough to look at him while she asked. Becker sat on the couch with a sigh. The fire trucks were still outside dousing the fire that was once his tuck._

_ "If I stay here he might think you're with me and make another attempt." He said._

_ "Then I'm staying here too,' she said crossing her arms and staring him down._

_ "It's too dangerous," Becker said pushing himself off the couch, "I …" he started, but Jess interrupted him._

_ "I'm not leaving you." She said._

The conversation had ended there when the car had finally arrived and they'd sped through London to get to the ARC. Becker's mood hadn't improved during the ride and he'd stormed through security, pulling Jess behind him.

_"Becker I can't keep up." said a voice behind him. He turned to see Jess tottering on her heels trying to keep up with his long strides. He instantly slowed down and put a hand at the small of her back with an apologetic smile._

_"Sorry," he said honestly. He hadn't realized just how quickly he'd been moving._

_"It's alright," she said with a smile.  
_

_"I told you heels were a bad idea," he said teasingly. Jess glared at him and slapped his arm lightly. He smiled at her and she tried to keep the stern expression on her face, but his smile was infectious and she ended up smiling along with him._

_"You're lucky you're cute," she said. Becker laughed at that. He was glad that she could joke this soon after the attack. He'd hate to have another day of morose Jess, he didn't think he could handle it._

"Becker," Lester's voice in his ear brought him out of his daydream.

"What do you need Lester?"

"I just got the report on the car incident. Apparently he used a brick and a Molotov Cocktail," he said, his voice as dry as ever.

"Which we can't trace," Becker growled.

"Right. Well carry on." Lester turned off his com. Becker turned back to the loaded weapon lying on the table tempted to take out another target, but he knew it wouldn't do anything but make him feel better for a little bit. He sighed and cleared the G36 and made sure it was safely secured in the armory before heading off to find Connor. Hoping he had made some progress in finding whoever was after Jess, and now him.

Connor was in the menagerie when he finally found him.

"Connor?" Becker said. Connor instantly dropped behind the desk, just the top of his head peaking over the top.

"Please don't kill me." Becker rolled his eyes and Abby smothered a laugh under her hand.

"I'm not going to kill you," he said. Connor peaked over the top of the desk and Becker couldn't resist, "yet." Connor whimpered and dropped back down behind the desk. Abby actually laughed this time and Becker chuckled, "Any luck on find the wanker after Jess?" he asked. Connor instantly popped up and walked to his laptop all fear, false or real, was gone from his face. He hit a few keys and soon the screen had booted up.

"I'm on his trail, but he's either good or lucky." Becker leaned over his shoulder to see the scree, even though he really didn't understand what Connor was saying. He felt a tug on his shirt and looked over to see Abby pulling his shirt away from his shoulder with concern in her eyes.

"What happened?" she asked him. He tried to pull his shirt back over the bruise, but Abby was too quick. Her eyes went wide and he thought he saw the corner of her mouth quirk.

"That must have been painful," she said, Becker heard the sympathy in her voice and figured he must have imagined the twitch of her lips. He had a hard time not smiling at the memory of how he got it.

"Not really," he said. Connor snapped his fingers to get their attention.

"I got something," he said typing furiously on the keyboard. Becker abandoned his worries about whether or not Abby had figured out he was sleeping with Jess, he didn't want anyone to know until he and Jess decided to tell them, and watched over Connor's computer again.

"He's using multiple routers, and bouncing the signals all over England. Basically it's going to be really difficult to find this guy." Connor told them. Becker rolled his eyes

"I thought you said you had something." He said. Connor ignored him and frowned, his concentration too sever for even Becker to brake with threats of death. He looked at Abby for help, only to find her smiling and shaking her head slowly.

"You boys have fun. I'm gonna go talk to Jess for a while," she said smirking. Becker stared after her for a moment, wondering what the hell that smirk had been about. He took a step towards the door intent on following her to Jess only to be stopped short by Connor.

"Becker, we aren't the only one tracking this guy." He said. Becker whipped around quickly.

"Can you tell who it is?" he asked. Connor began typing again, his fingers flying across the keyboard so fast that Becker could have sworn Connor was part computer himself.

"I'm following them know, but their definitely better than the stalker. Almost as good as me." He said the last part with a grin. Becker sighed.

"Very humble," he muttered under his breath. Connor let out a triumphant shout and pointed to the map on the screen. Becker took a look and cursed.

"Our stalker hunter is at the ARC." Connor said smugly.

**Jess' POV**

The ops room of the ARC was surprisingly quiet, the techs were all off somewhere else and Becker had left her to go talk to Connor. As much as Jess loved having Becker around her especially now that he'd come to his senses and asked her out, well sort of, she was happy to have a little time to herself with the very powerful computer in front of her. She checked the area one more time with the CCTV cameras scattered around the building. Becker had found Connor in the menagerie and would probably be distracted for a while, provided there wasn't an anomaly alert. All the soldiers who'd been told to be on the lookout for someone who might try to break in, Becker hadn't told them why at her request, were in the gym or at their positions away from the ops room. It was perfect timing.

She quickly pulled up her email account and started tracing the emails sent from DMW. Unlike Becker, she liked the nickname Connor had given him. Though it had taken a while to drag the information out of Becker, but it was a great way to spend a few hours. Jess smiled at the memory.

She was so busy following her stalker's virtual breadcrumbs that she didn't hear Abby until she spoke.

"I saw Becker's bruise," she said softly so only Jess could hear. Jess jumped to her feet doing her best not to scream. Thankfully she managed to reduce the sound to a sharp squeak of surprise. The last thing she wanted was to have a troop of armed guards running to her rescue. She pressed a hand to her racing heart and turned to her friend. Abby at least had the good graces to look sorry.

"Don't do that," Jess said raising her tea to her lips to moisten her suddenly dry mouth.

"Sorry," Abby said with a small smile, which quickly turned into a smirk. "So, did you do Becker's shoulder?" Jess coughed as tea went down the wrong pipe, eyes going wide. Abby pounded her firmly on the back until the coughing subsided.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jess said roughly, her throat still scratchy from her coughing fit, and turned back to the screens of the ADD.

"Jess, I work with animals. I know a bite mark when I see one." Jess did her best not to blush, but as usual she failed miserably and her fair skin turned a light pink.

"Good work," Abby said, causing Jess to turn bright red. Abby pulled a chair over from a nearby desk and settled next to Jess at the ADD, straddling the chair.

"So how was it?" she asked resting her chin on the back of the chair with an expectant look on her face. Jess opened and closed her mouth a few times, not sure how to answer. Luckily she didn't have to.

"Jess," Jess wasn't sure if she'd ever been so relieved to hear Becker's voice. Jess quickly hit the button on her com, ignoring Abby's knowing grin.

"I'm here Becker. Is everything alright?" she said.

"Yeah. Can you come to Connor's office? We need to talk."

"About what?" Jess said, honestly not sure what he wanted.

"About you trying to track down the stalker on your own."


	14. Chapter 14

**Please forgive any mistakes when it comes to tech talk. My strong points are in fighting and emergency response (EMT stuff and all that). My relationship with technology has not always been a good one. **

**P.S. Sorry it took so long to update I got some bad news that knocked me on my ass for a while. The only reason this chapter got up even remotely fast is because it was mostly written already. Hopefully it won't affect my writing for long.**

**Jess' POV**

Jess sighed and spun her chair around to face the hallway leading to Connor's office.

"I'll be right there," she said, pushing herself to a standing position. She saw Abby stand and kick the chair back to its original position out of the corner of her eye. Jess turned to her.

"I suppose you're coming with me," she said putting a hand on her hip. Abby nodded and put an arm around the FC's shoulder propelling her forward down the hall.

"Definitely, since you have yet to answer my question." She said with a smile. Jess groaned and allowed Abby to guide her down the hall, doing her best to ignore the intimate questions coming from the blonde woman.

"So? How was it?" Abby asked when they were about five feet from their destination. Jess stayed silent, but her resolve was cracking. Abby's face feel when she realized how close they were and that she wouldn't be able to pester her friend with questions once inside.

"Oh come on. I don't need details, just give me two words." Jess considered for a moment before mentally shrugging.

"Earth shattering." She said before swiping her wrist band over the door lock and walking inside.

**Becker's POV**

Becker wasn't so angry that he missed the triumphant smirk on Jess' face, or the dumbstruck look on Abby's when they entered Connor's lab. As soon as Jess saw his face she started talking.

"I wasn't going to go after him or anything. I just wanted to see if I could figure out where he was sending the emails from." she trailed off when he held up a hand.

"What did you find?" he said doing his best to have a reasonable tone. Jess and Abby both looked shocked, and Becker wasn't surprised. Connor was the one who'd pointed out it would be better to have both of them working on finding the stalker. He'd been too busy thinking of ways to keep her locked away where she couldn't get into trouble. Jess recovered first and spoke hesitantly, as if expecting him to change his mind.

"Nothing," She said, "I'd just started when you guys caught me." she turned to Becker, who was leaning against the steel table in the middle of the room with his arms crossed on his chest. "Did Connor find anything?"

"He's probably in London," Connor said from his position hunched over the keyboard. Becker rolled his eyes.

"Thank you for stating the obvious Connor," he said. He ignored the computer geek and pulled Jess over to a corner of the lab away from Connor and Abby. He spoke to Jess softly.

"I want you to reconsider staying with Connor and Abby," he said, Jess started to argue but Becker continued before she could, "I want to make sure you're safe."

"You think Connor can protect me if he finds us?" Becker considered it for a moment and shook his head.

"Not really. Abby maybe, but definitely not Connor." He smiled to let her know he was joking and she smiled in return. He was sorely tempted to kiss her despite the fact that Connor and Abby were a few meters away. He tilted his head until his lips were mere centimeters away from hers, only to snap his head back up when Connor started yelling.

"I figured it out," he said throwing his hands up, "I think." Connor dropped his hands back down to the computer and continued typing. Becker was next to him in seconds.

"You found him?" he said, his eyes scanning the computer screen for whatever had gotten Connor so excited.

"Not quite," Connor said. Abby pulled Becker away before he could murder her boyfriend and had him sit on one of the stools that sat by the large metal table in the center of the room. Jess walked over to him a moment later, not looking any happier about being interrupted than he was.

"Then what is all the celebration about," she said crossing her arms. Becker thought she may have been trying to glare but instead she just looked like she was pouting, which he found absolutely intoxicating for some reason.

"He made it too complicated for us to follow his emails, but if we send him an email from Jess then we can insert a Trojan in his account and follow the trail right back to him."

"You want to put a condom in his email," Becker said confused. He glared at his girlfriend when she let out an adorable snort of laughter.

"No a virus," she said. She looked like she was going to continue, but Connor took over the conversation.

"Basically I'm gonna give him a virus that gives us a peak at his location." Connor leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head looking rather smug. Becker rolled his eyes and used his foot to knock the chair over spilling Connor to the ground, just because he could. Abby punched his arm and went to help her boyfriend up, glaring at him the entire time.

"And you wonder why he's scared of you," she muttered under her breath.

"Not cool, mate." Connor added from his position on the floor.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," Becker said laughing, he could feel Jess shaking next to him as she tried to hide her laughter. The jovial moment was quickly interrupted when the room was filled with flashing red lights, signaling that there was an anomaly. Jess was off like a shot, surprising the three left standing after her.

"I didn't know she could move that fast in her heels," Connor said, snapping Becker out of his own stupor. He headed out the door backward talking to Connor as he went.

"Do what you have to." He said. Connor nodded and Becker assumed they were on the same page, so he left it to Connor and went to do his job.

Becker held back a groan as Jess set an ice pack on his swollen ankle. The leg in question was already propped up on the coffee table of his living room, luckily Jess had brought a pillow out of the guest room before he'd put his foot up.

"How did this happen again," she asked. Becker let his head fall back against the padded backrest of the couch.

"I jumped off a ledge to avoid a leaping raptor." he said. The fall hadn't been too bad, it had been a bag that one of his soldiers had left lying around that had really done a number on him. It had thrown off his landing, causing his ankle to bend in a way it definitely wasn't supposed to. The raptor had been about to leap after him when he'd looked back up. It had taken some quick maneuvering, but he'd managed to shot the damn thing midflight. When the team had finally made it back to the ARC after securing the anomaly site, and forbidden anyone else from mentioning his injury, Becker played it off in front of Lester not wanting to get stuck with more mandatory medical leave. Jess however hadn't been fooled. She's ambushed him as soon as he left Lester's office and taken him home. Thankfully she'd taken the blame for the hasty departure. Lester was pretty much letting her get away with anything while she had a stalker on her tail, and it was coming in pretty handy. She'd settled him on the couch as soon as they'd walked in the door and told him not to move under pain of death. She looked so cute when she tried to be threatening.

Jess looked at him for a moment before shrugging.

"Well I guess a sprained ankle is better than a raptor claw," she said as she wandered back to the kitchen.

"Truer words were never spoken," he called over his shoulder trying to adjust to a more comfortable position. The movement sent a jolt of pain radiating up his leg and he quickly decided not to do it again. Small hands settled on his shoulders and began carefully kneading the tense knots there. He groaned his delight at Jess' ministrations and she giggled.

"I'll take that as a sign to continue." she said leaning in close to his ear.

"At this point you can do anything you want to me," he said. Jess pulled her hands away slowly, letting them drift along his back for a moment, and Becker instantly missed the warmth of her hands. His dismay was short lived as Jess quickly came round the couch to snuggle in close to his side. He sighed and pulled her in closer, wanting as much contact as possible. He'd been on edge since they'd gotten back, though he'd hidden it well from Jess. He hoped. The last thing he wanted Jess to know was that he was beginning to doubt his ability to protect her.

"Becker?" Jess' voice startled him from his thoughts. She was looking up at him with those eyes that he could easily drown in. Without thinking he dropped his head to hers and gently caught her lips with his. Jess smiled when he pulled away.

"What was that for?" she asked snuggling even closer than before.

"Just because." They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a while before Becker remembered what they'd planned earlier.

"Did you guys send the email." He asked looking down at Jess. She nodded slowly.

"Connor sent one as soon as you left, all we can do now if wait for him to open it." She said in the voice she always used when she was half asleep already. Becker smiled and let his head fall to the back of the couch.

Becker woke with a start when his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He rubbed a hand over his face to wake him up and reached into his pocket for the phone, waking Jess in the process. She stretched like a contented cat, Becker couldn't help but notice the way her curves were outlined by her clothes with the movement, and nearly purred in his ear.

"What time is it," this time she definitely purred. Becker looked at the clock on the phone in his hand.

"4 o'clock," he said before answering the phone, "Becker."

"He opened the email." Connor's excited whisper came over the phone and Becker instantly put it on speaker so Jess could hear as well.

"Have you found him yet?" Jess asked pulling her knees under her in a self-comforting way. Becker wrapped his arm around her again and pulled her close, giving her as much support as he could.

"I'm looking," Connor's disembodied voice said, "Almost there. Got him!" There was a pause and both Becker and Jess leaned closer to the phone waiting.

"Oh shit," Connor said sounding shocked. Becker got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach and adrenaline began leaking into his system.

"The fucker works at the ARC."


	15. Chapter 15

**So it looks like the bad news has not affected my muse too badly, so I'm hoping that the updates will continue at a relatively steady pace. Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see happen. I have a pretty good idea where this is going, but I'm always happy to get suggestions. Enjoy!**

**Jess' POV**

Jess looked at the shattered phone by the wall, then back to Becker who was busy pacing the floor behind the couch. He was talking to himself under his breath and Jess could only make out a few words.

"Are you okay?" she asked not moving from her seat on the couch. She wanted to wrap her arms around him, but she wasn't sure how he would react. When he didn't answer she inched closer to him, still not getting off the couch. He was acting just like he had the night after the bomb, like he didn't have control anymore. She was worried about him, and she was pretty sure it was written on her face. Becker didn't seem to hear her, so she stood and slowly made her way towards him. As soon as she put a hand on his shoulder he swept her up into a bone crushing hug. He hurried his face in the crook of her neck and held her flush against him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and dug her fingers into his hair. Neither of them said anything for a while, both content to just hold each other.

"It's going to be alright," she whispered. She felt his arms tighten at her words, then he pulled back to look at her.

"I need you to stay away from the ARC. Just," he said only to be interrupted by Jess vigorously shaking her head. "Listen please. Just until we figure out exactly who it is." Jess could see the pleading in his eyes, but she couldn't even consider his request.

"Becker, no." she said firmly, "I need to be there. I won't leave you with a FC that anything less than the best. And I'm the best there is," she said. Becker looked like he was going to argue so Jess kissed him. He was stiff at first, but he quickly melted into the kiss. His hands dropped to her hips, his fingers pressing into her skin, then drifted up under her shirt to feel the heat of her smooth skin. Jess gave a breathy moan as soon as his hands hit her sensitized skin. At her moan Becker gripped the back of her thighs and lifted her so she could wrap her legs around his waist. Jess gripped Becker's hair as the move fitted him tightly against her, fighting the urge to moan again. Becker walked them over to the couch, without breaking the kiss, until he could sit with Jess straddling his hips. As soon as they sat Jess rocked her hips forward bringing them closer together.

"Jess," Becker groaned. He pulled her shirt over her head and was rewarded with the sight of a lacy red bra. He groaned again and turned his attention to her neck. His hot, open mouthed kisses and nips had Jess throwing her head back and rolling her hips against his. She tugged at his shirt, desperate to have skin against skin. Becker left her neck just long enough to help Jess strip off his shirt, before returning to his earlier ministrations. He trailed his lips down the column of her throat, leaning her back to reach his target. Jess sighed as Becker's lips reached the top of her breasts. He kissed and licked his way down, pushing the cups of her bra down.

"Becker," she gasped as his lips closed around one swollen nipple. He sucked the small bud into his mouth allowing his teeth to rake against the sensitive flesh. He moved onto the other breast when he had Jess gasping and squirming in his arms.  
Becker pulled Jess upright and kissed her hard, allowing his hands to drift up her thighs, pushing her skirt up around her waist. His fingers dug into her skin sending small shockwaves through her, and Becker groaned when he realized she didn't have anything on underneath the tiny skirt.

"I took them off when we got home," she whispered in his ear before sucking the lobe between her teeth. Becker groaned as she fumbled with his belt buckle and was soon sliding onto him. Jess gasped as he filled her, and soon she began to move.

**Becker's POV**

Jess was moving her hips in tiny mind numbing circle that were quickly stealing his brain power. _Not that I really mind_, he thought as she pulled him close for another kiss. When the kiss ended they were both short of breath. Becker gripped her hips, guiding her into a faster rhythm that had them bob gasping for breath, and driving them over the edge.

It was a while before Becker felt like he could move again. Jess was still sprawled across his lap her head resting on his shoulder. Her ragged breathing in his ear made him smile, his ego rising a few notches. A knock at the door had them scrambling to put their clothes to rights. Jess gave Becker a quick kiss and disappeared into the bedroom. Becker ran his hands through his hair, trying to erase the signs that Jess had been messing with it. He wasn't horrible surprised to find Connor standing on the other side of the door, a slightly worried look on his face.

"Don't shoot me," he said looking at Becker's hand.

"What?" Becker said following Connor's gaze to the gun in his hand. He was honestly surprised to see it. He didn't remember getting it out of the kitchen drawer on the way to the front door. He quickly stuck the gun on a nearby counter.

"I won't shoot you Temple," he said standing aside so the tech guy could come in. "What do you need?"

"Lester wanted me to bring this," Connor said holding up the small briefcase that Becker hadn't noticed earlier. _You're slipping mate,_ he thought to himself as he took the case from Connor and set it on the island in the kitchen. His eyebrows went up and he glanced at Connor, when he opened the case.

"I guess Lester wanted you to be prepared," Connor said looking over the soldier's shoulder, his own eyes going wide when he saw the contents. There was a Sig Sauer P226 for every room and enough ammo to take down a small elephant. There was also a Sig Sauer P230 with a note taped to it.

"For Jess in case of emergencies only," Becker read aloud. He would have to thank Lester later for the extra fire power. "Just make sure they make it back to the armory intact."

"Has Jess ever even held a gun?" Connor asked. Becker shrugged, he'd probably end up having to give Jess some lessons.

"I have as a matter of fact," Jess said emerging from the hallway. He voice and sudden appearance made the young man jump. Jess walked over to Becker and held out her hand expectantly. It took Becker a moment to realize she was waiting for him to hand her the gun. He hesitated for a moment before checking to make sure the gun was clear, before handing it over. Jess took it and expertly checked the chamber before popping out the clip. She grabbed one of the full clips from the suitcase and loaded the gun with ease of practice. She put the safety on and looked at the two men who were staring at her with open astonishment.

"I'll just go put this in my night stand then and take a shower," she said before heading towards the guest room. "Goodnight Connor."

Becker and Connor stared after her until she disappeared down the hall. Connor leaned towards Becker without taking his eyes away from when Jess had vanished.

"Did you know she could do that?" he asked. Becker shook his head.

"No," he said. Seeing Jess handle that gun with such confidence had been seriously sexy. He shook his head, trying to absorb this new info he'd discovered about Jess. They heard the shower turn on and Becker did his best to recover from the shock.

"So I take it Lester knows about the stalker working at the ARC?" He asked Connor, trying to think of something other than joining Jess in the shower. Connor nodded.

"He wants all of us at the ARC bright and early to come up with a plan to catch him?" he said looking back at Becker.

"Do we have any idea who it is exactly?" Becker said, hiding the fact that he hoped Connor had at least narrowed it down from the hundreds of employees at the ARC.

"It could literally be anyone," Connor said shaking his head.

"And he's only going to get more violent as time goes on." Becker sighed. Connor put a supportive hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I gotta get back to Abby, but lets us know if anything happens." Becker nodded and Connor headed for the door.

Becker made sure the door was locked after Connor had made it to his car, no such thing as too careful, and went back to the suitcase in the kitchen. The guns were hidden all over the flat in a very short amount of time, all easily accessible if you knew where they were but hard to spot if you didn't. He made a mental note to show Jess where all the guns were hidden. A sly smile crossed his face as he looked in the direction of the bathroom, where Jess was currently soaking wet and conveniently naked. _Finding out where she learned to use a gun is going to be a pleasurable experience,_ he thought as he started towards the closed door. The ringing of his home phone caught his attention before he could make it to the hallway. He frowned, worried because his mother was the only person with this number.

"This is Becker," he said hoping his mother was just calling to say hi and not have some terrible news.

"Next time I'll wait till you're in the car."


	16. Chapter 16

**All right so here we have another fluff chapter, with hopefully a little angst. Though probably not much. I hope you like it. **

**Jess' POV**

"He's escalating," Becker said bluntly, arms crossed over his chest. Jess knew Becker was tired, she'd felt him tossing and turning all night, but he looked as immaculate as ever. The only giveaway, if someone looked closely, was how heavily he was leaning against the wall of Lester's office. Everyone had arrived early that day for the meeting, though they had to wait a while for Lester to join them after he got caught in traffic. Suffice it to say, he was not in a good mood. Lester turned to Matt in frustration.

"Just find him and have Becker shoot him, so we can get back to whatever passes for normalcy around here." he said. Becker raised an eyebrow at his comment and Abby let out a chortle of glee.

"Can I help?" she asked Becker who just sighed and shook his head. The phone on Lester's desk rang making everyone jump, except Becker and Matt who seemed to have nerves of steel. Jess could only wish she had those. Connor apparently, who'd been dozing off in one of the chairs, didn't have them either. He jerked in shock so hard that he nearly fell out of the chair. Lester hit the speaker button.

"Yes, what is it?" he sighed. His secretary's voice came over the speaker.

"Minister on line one for you sir."

"Perfect timing as always," Lester muttered under his breath. He turned to Becker and Matt who were both leaning on the wall. "You two figure out a way to draw him out."  
Becker nodded and kicked Connor's leg to wake him up again. He jolted upright looking around in a mild panic, making Jess smile. When she met Becker's eye she had to put a hand over her mouth to stifle the laughter threatening to bubble to the surface. Jess had gotten to her feet and was making her way to the door when she was suddenly falling. She did her best to brace herself for the impact, but it never came. She felt hands on her arms and opened her eyes to see Matt and Becker both holding one of her arms. They were both giving Connor death glares and she assumed she had tripped over Connor converse covered feet. Connor sank lower in the chair under the weight of the combined glares.

"Sorry Jess," he said. Jess smiled at him.

"It's fine Connor. It was an accident after all." Jess gently extracted her arms from Matt and Becker's grasps and headed out the door. Becker was beside her in a second.

"I'm not leaving your side for a second until we find this guy," he whispered on her ear. Jess was finding it difficult to concentrate on putting one foot in front if the other when he was this close. She looked up at him and was surprised by how tired he looked when it was just the two of them. She knew the armory was just up ahead and an Idea sprang to mind. When they hit the open door she tugged a surprised Becker in as they went past.

"You seem to have developed a habit of pulling me into empty rooms." He murmured as he walked past her. Jess rolled her eyes and shut the door behind firmly, locking it so that only someone with the same level of clearance as her could open it again. She pulled him over to the cot that she had remembered seeing in there from the last time she'd brought Becker paperwork to sign and made him sit down.

"Jess?" he said in a confused tone when he hit the hard canvas.

"You don't have to be on the clock for another hour at least." She said when he tried to get back up, pushing on his shoulders. "Try and get some rest."

"I'm fine Jess," he said trying to ignore the fact that Jess was shaking her head.

"You forget I'm sleeping with you Becker," she said as she pushed him to lay down, which he grudgingly did. "I can feel you tossing all night."

**Becker's POV**

Becker didn't want to admit just how tired he was. The nightmares had come back last night, despite Jess sleeping right beside him, only this time she was burning alive in the truck and he couldn't get to her. That mixed with the last week of sporadic sleep meant he was flat out exhausted. Luckily he hid it well, at least from everyone except Jess apparently.

"Jess, I'm trained to go without sleep for long periods of time. We should get you to the ADD," he said trying to get back up, only to be pushed back down by Jess. She really was stronger than she looked, or he was more tired than he thought.

"My shift doesn't start for another hour either." She said smiling down at him. The fact that she looked a bit like an angel flitted through Becker's mind, and was quickly replace with thoughts of a different nature. He smiled slyly and Jess quickly stepped away before he could grab her.

"Oh no you don't," she said with a laugh, "I know that look. Sleep is all you're getting right now." She walked over and sat on the swivel chair a good three feet away from him. She reached into the bag she was caring and took out a book.

"I'm gonna sit right here and read while you take nap."

Becker sighed and admitted to himself that he was fighting a losing battle, because in truth he would do pretty much anything Jess asked him to, and he really needed the sleep. He could feel himself drifting off while she was talking, but one thing was still gnawing at his curiosity.

"Jess? Where'd you learn to use a gun?"

**Jess' POV**

"Jess? Where'd you learn to use a gun?" Becker voice was muffled as he fell asleep making Jess smile. Becker looked like a kid when he slept, all the tension and responsibility was swept away. It didn't really surprise her that she like to watch him sleep. She just hopped it wasn't borderline stalker behavior.

Jess bit her lip, wondering if she should tell Becker she had a sure fire way to draw DMW, she was liking that nickname more and more, out. She didn't really like it, though Becker would jump on the chance, because it put Becker right in the crosshairs of the stalker and she loved him too much to take the risk. Her new phone vibrated in her pocket, bringing her back to reality.

"Hello?" she said not bothering to look at the caller ID, the only people who even knew she had the phone were on the team.

"Hey Jess," Abby's cheerful voice came over the line. Jess smiled and walked into the room adjacent to the Armory so she wouldn't wake Becker.

"What's up Abby?"

"Not much really. I just realized that we don't have to punch the clock for another hour and was trying to find you for some girl talk." Abby said. Jess could hear different conversations I'm the background, as well as several sets of footsteps.

"I'm in the Armory," she said.

"Why," Abby's voice was so full of shock that Jess almost burst out laughing. She thought about making up some crazy story just for fun, but she was just too good natured.

"I made Becker take a nap since he looked like he was about to fall over."

"I'll be there in a sec," Abby hung up the phone and true to her word she was outside the door almost instantly. Jess went to open the door and instantly worried when she saw who was with her.


	17. Chapter 17

**Huge thank you's to everyone who reviewed the story. It's really helped me push forward with the story, seriously they make my day. I hope you enjoy this next installment. ;D **

**Jess' POV**

Jess put her hands on her hips and glared at Matt and Connor suspiciously, as they both had their hands behind their backs and their too innocent expressions.

"What are you too doing here? Abby said we were having girl talk." She said still glaring at the men. She wasn't all that surprised to see her look mirrored on Abby's face, who quickly came to stand next to her blocking the door to the Armory.

Connor was trying to hide the mischievous look on his face and failing miserably.

"We just wanted to see how you're doing," he said. Matt nodded next to him. At least Matt could pull of a fake look of concern. Abby threw her hands up.

"You guys are so stupid," she said stomping out. At least she pretended to, as soon as she saw what was behind their backs she came right back to stand next to Jess.

"If you're just here to check on Jess, than why do you have makeup behind you?" she asked her eyebrows raising into a "got ya" expression. The boys looked defeated and pulled their loot from behind them. It took Jess less than a minute to figure out their plan.

"You heard me tell Abby Becker was taking a nap and decided to pull a prank didn't you." Connor had the decency to look ashamed. Matt however just pointed at Connor.

"It was his idea," he said, not even trying to hide his amusement of the whole situation. Jess turned her glare on him immediately and he didn't flinch, of course.

"Traitor," Connor mumbled under his breath. Jess could see Abby melt at the crestfallen look on her boyfriend's face.

"And you went along with it because?" Jess asked Matt before he could try and leave.

"Becker annoys me." He said with a shrug. Jess looked at the two men with disbelief etched on her face.

"And you thought it would be a good idea to startle a soldier, who's already on edge, while he's surrounded by lethal weapons?" Connor looked appalled at her words. He turned to Abby his mouth opening and closing silently.

"I hadn't thought of that," he said finally. Jess saw Matt sneaking out the door and turned to Connor.

"Your partner in crime just headed out the door," she said pointing at Matt's retreating form. Connor spun around to look where Jess was pointing before turning back to the two women who were looking at him expectantly.

"Yeah, I should probably go," he said as he walked backwards. Once he hit the door he broke into a run, leaving the girls laughing in his wake.

**Becker's POV**

Becker rubbed his tired eyes with the palm of his hand and rose slowly to his feet. It took a moment for him to realize that Jess wasn't in the chair she been in when he'd fallen asleep. He quickly grabbed the nearest pistol and loaded it, intent on finding Jess. He was running through all the possible things that could have happened to her, none of them good, when the sound of laughter caught his attention and he headed out into the primary room of the Armory. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Jess talking with Abby. He cleared his throat, causing the women to jump out of their seats. He was happy to see Abby drop into a fighter's crouch, but Jess' reaction was less than pleasing. She just sat in her chair looking around with a curious look on her face. Abby relaxed when she saw him and Jess broke into a smile.

"I think I need to give you some lessons in self-defense," he said walking over to where Jess was sitting. She stood to meet him and the only thing that kept him from kissing her senseless was Abby's presence. It turned out Abby could tell what was on his mind. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh for God's sake, kiss her already," she said. Becker started to deny it only to have Jess stop him by placing a hand on his chest.

"She knows," she said. Becker looked at her flabbergasted.

"You told her?" he asked in what he hoped didn't sound angry. Luckily it seemed like Jess didn't take the question the wrong way.

"She… uh, kind of figured it out?" she said, a pink blush racing up her slim neck.

"How?"

"Well," Abby said walking over to him. She tugged on the sleeve of his shirt, exposing the bruise that still marked his shoulder. "You didn't do a very good job hiding the bite mark." Becker quickly matched Jess' color as he tried to fumble for an explanation, but his mind was going blank.

"By the way," Abby said righting his collar, "she said you were earth shattering." With that Abby walked out the door, leaving Becker staring open mouthed after her and Jess doing her best not to break into laughter. Becker was the first to recover.

"Earth shattering?" he asked her with his eyebrow raised. Jess seemed to get even redder, though Becker thought it may just have been his mind playing tricks on him. She recovered quickly and sent him a playful smile.

"Well, I may have embellished a bit," she said trying to squeeze past him. She let out a squeal of delight as his arm snaked around her waist, pulling her back into the recesses of the Armory. He backed her gently against the wall and pressed his lips to hers in a sensual, knee melting kiss that had her gasping for air when he finally ended it.

**Jess' POV**

The first thing Jess noticed when Becker pulled his firm lips away from hers was that she was clutching the front of his shirt in her petite fists, trying to pull him back down, and that he had a smug look on his face. _Turnabout's fair play, _she thought with a smile. She grabbed his hair roughly and pulled him down for another kiss, not missing the groan he emitted as the distance between them closed. She knew just how to get him ramped up and was more than happy to use it to her advantage. A nip at his lower lip had him groaning again and pressing her harder against the wall. As soon as Jess felt one of his hands start to dip under the hem of her shirt she pulled back.

"I believe it's almost time for the shift change," she said ducking under his arm with a teasing smile. Becker groaned, for an entirely different reason this time, and took a few deep breaths. She could tell he was doing his best to calm himself down and decided it was the perfect time to get her stuff together before they headed to the locker room.

"That was unfair," he whispered in her ear. Jess jumped a little at the feel of his breath against the sensitive skin of her neck.

"Stop sneaking up on me," she said with a faux pout that always managed to get Becker laughing. This time she was rewarded only with one of his signature smirks.

"Ready?" he asked eyeing the bag slung over her shoulder. Jess sighed, resigned to the fact that once they walked out the door Becker would become the reserved soldier once again. She nodded and they left the relative safety of the Armory. They had been walking in silence for a while when Becker's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"How do you want to play this at work?" he asked. Jess looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Our relationship? Do you want it out in the open, or do you want to keep it secret?" He clarified. Jess took a moment to consider it. A few months ago she would have wanted to tell everyone she knew that she was in love with the man standing next to her, but now she wasn't so sure. She bit her lip, not sure what to say.

"Jess," Becker turned her to look at him and drew his thumb across her lower lip, releasing the tender flesh from her teeth before she could do any damage.

"Can we talk about this tonight," she asked. Becker looked concerned, causing Jess to hurry to reassure him.

"It's nothing bad," she said quickly, "I just don't think this is the time and place to make this kind of decision. I mean we don't have much time before we need to be at work and," Becker cut off her rambling before she could go any further.

"It's fine Jess. We can talk about it when we get home," he said. Jess couldn't help the little thrill that shot through her when he said home rather than, back to my place or something equally ambiguous. She let him steer her into the unisex locker room while she did her best to try and stop the idiotic grin that wanted desperately to spread across her face. She entered the familiar numbers for her combination lock and the locker door sprang open with a pop. She spared a quick glance at Becker who was engrossed in opening his own locker, before turning back to find the ear piece she left in there while digging for her lipstick. She stuck her hand in the locker without looking and recoiled when she encountered something fuzzy. Taking her eyes away from the hunt in her bag she gasped and threw her hands over her mouth in horror. Becker was next to her instantly, pulling her away from the wall of lockers.

"Shit!" He growled, Jess turned her head into the safety of his chest and did her best not to cry. Nestled amongst her spare closes and a few extra headsets was a bright red teddy bear. A picture of Becker and Jess cuddling on the couch in his flat had been tied around the bear's neck with a snow white ribbon. The words "You Belong With Me!" printed boldly in red across the glossy photo surface.


	18. Chapter 18

**Shit's getting real! I'm seriously having fun writing this, and reading the reviews. My best friend has accurately labeled me a "review whore". She is so right! Anyway, enjoy the next chapter. **

**Jess' POV**

Everyone in the ops room was busy trying to make it look like they weren't watching the strange sight unfolding right before their eyes. When word had gotten around that's the ARC's unflappable head of security was losing it in Lester's office, people actually found excuses to come and watch. Jess sighed as she shooed yet another set of bio techs back to work. That particular pair had been hanging around since Becker had started pacing ten minutes ago. Jess half expected them to pull out popcorn when Lester joined him in the glass room. It was beginning to wear on her nerves, Becker was not a creature in the menagerie to gawk at.

She glanced up at Lester's office, thanking God that Lester had insisted it be sound proof. Becker was quite obviously shouting at Lester, who was getting redder every minute, using his hands wildly for emphasis. When Becker slammed his hands down on Lester's desk and shoved a finger in his face Jess decided it was time to intervene before Becker got himself fired. Grabbing a file of her desk, she reached the door in record time and yanked it open without knocking. Both men stared at her, appearing surprised at the interruption.

"Sorry sir," she said looking at Lester, who seemed to understand what she was trying to do. "I have some reports that need your signature." She snuck a quick look at Becker, almost expecting smoke to be coming out of his ears. She didn't think she'd ever seen him so livid.

"Of course," Lester said snapping Jess' attention back to him, "Becker we'll finish this conversation later."

Becker seemed to recover slightly, since he nodded and left the room tossing the door open with only a little more force than necessary, rather than shattering it. Jess hurried the file over to Lester taking quick glances through the glass walls at Becker's retreating form.

"Go make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." Lester told her. Normally she would have waited to make sure he had everything he needed, but this time she was out the door almost before the words left his mouth.

She walked down the corridor she'd last seen him in, looking into every office hoping she'd find him brooding in one of them. After a few failed attempts she was beginning to wonder if she'd gone down the wrong hall when a loud crash got her attention.

**Becker's POV**

Becker picked up another chair and hurled it at the already dented wall. The soldier in him was appalled by the way he'd spoken to a superior, but the caveman in him just wanted to protect Jess and throw things. He'd hadn't lost it like that since he'd become a soldier.

_"Jess has to stay away from the ARC until we find this guy." He'd burst into Lester's office without knocking and leaned with his fists on the boss' immaculate desk. Lester had given him a look of surprise, or what passed for surprised with Lester._

_ "And what, may I ask, brought on this little epiphany?" Lester asked calmly._

_ "He left a little present in Jess' locker." He spat. Just remembering the look on Jess' face when she'd seen the damn teddy bear was enough to make his adrenaline kick into over drive with the need to hit something. Lester looked concerned for a moment before turning back to his computer._

_ "We'll you'll just have to escort her round the ARC when she's here. Except during an Anomaly of course." He said. Becker could hardly believe what he was hearing._

_ "She's not staying here. I'm taking her back to the flat and keeping her there until this is all sorted." Becker's newly healed knuckles were white where they rested on the desk. Lester stood_

_ "I understand your reluctance Captain, however I cannot lose my best Field Coordinator and my head of security. Ms. Parker stays. We'll just have to try not to lose her again." Lester had looked down at his paperwork, obviously expecting the soldier to respect his word as he'd done in the past._

_ "I will not let Jess be somewhere she isn't safe," Becker growled slamming his hands against the desk. He shoved a finger in Lester's direction."I won't allow it."_

_ Lester looked up slowly his eyebrows raised._

_ "That is not your decision to make." Lester said his voice dangerously low. Becker started to say something when Jess burst in._

_ "Sorry sir," she'd said looking a little flustered. It had taken every ounce of his will power not to scoop her up right there and take her back home and keep her there._

Becker sighed, knowing he was going to have to apologies to Lester for his behavior. He just hoped his sardonic boss would be in a forgiving mood when he did.

"Becker?" A small voice in the doorway brought his attention back to the present. He whipped around to see Jess standing behind him with a worried look on her face. He sagged into the chair he'd been about to throw as Jess walked towards him. He dropped his head into his hands, while Jess rubbed her hands firmly down his back, finding every knot she could.

"You created quite a stir," she said lowering her head so her hair brushed across the exposed skin of his neck making him shiver.

"I know," he said quietly. "I just hate the idea of you getting hurt." Jess' hands disappeared from his back and she was instantly kneeling in front of him.

"What happened in there?" she asked him trying to look him in the eye, while he avoided hers. Becker knew she'd be furious that he'd tried to get her sent home from the ARC, but he couldn't keep secrets from her either. Not if he wanted her to stay.

"I wanted you to stay home until we caught him," he said. Jess pushed herself away and Becker instantly missed her presence. He looked up to see her standing a few feet away, she was biting her lip the way she did when she was thinking things over. She glanced at him every once in a while and Becker would have given anything to have the ability to read her mind.

Eventually the silence proved to be more than he could take. He tentatively reached out his hand, giving Jess time to move away, and gentle encircled her dainty wrist. He marveled for a moment at how as tiny she was she could bend him to her will with a simple crook of her finger.

"Jess? Are you angry with me?" he asked, slightly fearing her answer.

"Yes," she said simply, "I already told you I wasn't staying away from the ARC."

"I know, but…" Becker tried to defend himself but was quickly cut off by a now more irate Jess.

"How could you ignore me like that?"

"I'm just trying to protect you Jess." Jess pulled her wrist out of Becker's grip. He decided it was a good idea to let go, even if he could keep her from getting away.

"Fine," she said, "But you have to respect my decisions along the way."

Becker moved forward trying to take her hands again, but Jess slipped away.

"I need you somewhere I can protect you." He said allowing his hands to fall to his sides.

"You can't just store me in a little box every time there's a risk." she nearly shouted, stomping her foot. If she wasn't so mad at him, Becker would have found it extremely appealing. He loved that Jess had fire underneath her bubbly exterior.

"Jess. I…,"

"I've been away from the ADD too long," she interrupted looking at the purple watch hanging from her wrist. She started to the door, but paused when she passed Becker. She looked at him and filled her hands with the front of his shirt, bringing his head down closer to hers. Becker prayed this meant that she wasn't too mad at him, as his hands settled on her slim hips.

"Becker, I love you. But what we have will not work if you insist on treating me like a child." She said softly. She kissed his cheek, lingering a moment, and slipped out of his grasp. Becker watched her walk out the door not sure what else to do.

"Shit!" The chair he'd been sitting on flew into the wall next to the others.


	19. Chapter 19

**I'm not sure what happened, but this chapter seemed to get pulled right out of me. I hope you like it!  
**

**Jess' POV**

Jess walked quickly down the crowded hallway towards the ops room, still fuming from her argument with Becker. _Why the hell would he do that?_ She asked herself wiping away a tear that threatened to mess up her makeup. She turned a blind corner too fast and was nearly knocked on her ass when she hit a solid wall. A pair of hand shot out and grabbed her arms before she could fall.

"Thank you," she said looking up at the soldier she's just run into. He was about as tall as Becker, which meant he was nearly a foot taller than her, "and sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." The soldier, who looked like he was just a few years older than her, just shrugged and smiled brilliantly.

"It's not the first time that's happened," he said still grinning, "And if I couldn't take a hit like that, then I have no reason being in the SAS." Jess couldn't help but laugh at the young soldier's self-deprecating humor. He chuckled as well, his laugh starting deep in his belly. Once she'd stopped laughing she took a good look at him. With his light blond hair and laughing green eyes he looked like he could be a model, except for a thin scar that ran down the side of his face. He looked familiar, but she couldn't place him. Not that that was unusual in a work place of this size, there were plenty of people working here that Jess wouldn't know if they came up and smacked her across the face.

"Well, thank you again…" Jess trailed off when she realized she didn't know his name. He seemed to grasp why she stopped and grinned even wider.

"Sargent Frank Howell ma'am," he said holding out his hand. Jess took it and was pleased to find that he knew to temper his strength unlike some of the other soldiers she'd met. They always ended up blushing and apologizing when she'd winced from a mistakenly too strong grip.

"Jess Parker. No rank though," she said. Howell's eyes widened for a moment and Jess had to hold back a frown. She hoped her joke wasn't that bad. "Something wrong Sargent?" she asked. Howell shook his head, recovering his senses and he actually blushed, which Jess thought was adorable.

"No ma'am. I was actually just on my way to find you. I uh…" Howell dropped her hands and shifted his weight from foot to foot. Jess hesitated for a moment, torn between running and trying to figure out what was going on.

"Yes?" she said after a moment.

"I lost my access bracelet," Howell mumbled and Jess had to fight back another round of laughter at the young man's discomfort.

"It's not that bad," she told him, "I've had to replace four this week."

"I don't lose things," he said before blushing a little more at her arched eyebrow, "Not normally anyway."

"Don't worry about it. That's why we made them work for only one person." Jess smiled again and tilted her head in the direction of the ops room. "Let's go get you a new one."

They walked in silence for a moment, though it was slightly uneasy because Howell kept sneaking glances at her out of the corner of his eye. After about the sixth glance Jess had had enough.

"Is there something you need Sargent Howell." She asked stopping in the middle of the hallway making him stop if he wanted to continue the conversation. He walked a few more feet before turning around and walking back.

"I overheard Maitland and Temple talking about your situation," he said bluntly, catching Jess off guard. She felt the blood rush from her face, and from the look on Howell's he'd noticed it too.

"What…, what situation?" she stammered. She didn't think he'd be fooled since her voice hands had started shaking the minute she'd felt her face pale. Howell glanced both ways down the corridor and took a step closer to her when he saw no one was nearby.

"Your stalker," he said. She started to deny it but stopped when he held up a hand to silence her. "I won't tell anyone else if that's what you. Just let me know if you need anything. Okay?"

Jess stared at him for a minute, trying to figure out why the hell he'd be offering his help to a women he met five minutes ago.

"Why would you help me?" Howell smirked a little at her shocked tone.

"I don't think women should have to be scared because some idiot can't take no for an answer." Jess raised her eyebrow at him and he shrugged. "Okay so you remind me a little of my over protected baby sister," He said gesturing with his hand, indicating that they should continue and Jess started forward still a little confused.

"Plus if anything happens to you the Captain is gonna go insane, so there's some self-preservation mixed in with the gentlemanly behavior." Howell said leaning down so she could hear his quiet tone. The comment caught her off guard and she started laughing, earing some strange looks from people as the pair entered the ops room. Jess managed to pull herself together and tone the laugh down to a chuckle, especially when she saw Abby look at her with concern written all over her face. Jess cleared her throat and did her best to look like professional Jess.

"This way Sargent Howell," she said leading him towards the ADD. She sat down in the plush red chair and began pulling up his data to be imprinted on his access bracelet.

"Hey Jess," Abby said leaning against the side of the ADD.

"Morning Abby," Jess replied not looking away from the screens in front of her. She could see Abby throwing worried glances at Howell who, to his credit, didn't seem to be bothered by them. Either that or he hid it really well. Jess hated that all her friends had to be suspicious of everyone she met and she bit her lip to keep from snapping at Abby. Jess knew deep down that they were just looking out for her. Jess finished up loading all of Howell's info on to one of the extra bracelets she kept lying around just for this reason.

"Hold out your wrist," she told the young man standing next to her. He complied without a word and Jess snapped the bracelet in place.

"Try not to lose this one," she teased. Howell gave her a wry smile and nodded.

"I'll do my best Ms. Parker," he said. He turned his attention to Abby. "Ms. Maitland." He said with a nod. If he noticed Abby's return nod was a little stiff he didn't say anything.

Both women watched him walk out of the ops room, before Jess turned on Abby.

"Why were you so rude?" she asked her friend, more than a little annoyed.

"We don't know him, and we have to be careful." Abby said, clearly not understanding why Jess was so upset. Jess rolled her eyes.

"I know I have to be careful, but if I let him make me into some paranoid lunatic than he's won anyway." She said, trying to make Abby recognize that she still wanted to live her life, despite the danger from the stalker.

"Any idea where Becker is?" Abby asked, making Jess' mouth drop open. Why did people insist on ignoring her?

**Becker's POV**

Becker heard someone enter the Armory behind him and he spun around ready to fight, only to find Abby standing in the doorway.

"We need to talk," she said. Becker raised an eyebrow in questions and Abby shooed him father into the Armory before hopping up onto one of the counters, swinging her legs.

"How well do you know Sargent Howell?" she asked getting straight to the point. Becker looked at her in surprise.

"Not very well, he's relatively new to the ARC," he said.

"How new?"

"I don't know a few months maybe. What is this about Abby?" Becker asked, he was still on edge from the arguments earlier and he could feel his temper rising to the surface faster than usual. He started pacing to try and work off the excess energy coursing through his body.

"The calls started around the same time right?" Abby's words and Becker freezing mid stride.

"You think Howell is the one stalking Jess?" he growled. The reasonable side of his mind was telling him to wait for evidence, but another side was sorely tempted to grab a gun off the wall and hunt Howell down. Abby must have guessed what he was thinking because she was glancing nervously at the walls of weaponry surrounding them.

"Maybe telling you in here was a bad idea," she said edging a little farther away from one of the pistols sitting on the counter for cleaning. Becker was too busy thinking about Howell to really hear what she was saying. His record was good, but that didn't necessarily mean that there weren't some cracks beneath the surface. He whirled to face Abby.

"What makes you think it's Howell?" he said sharply, making Abby jump a little.

"He was with Jess when she came back into the ops room," she said. "They were laughing, so maybe she felt safe with him?" Abby didn't sound horribly convinced and Becker felt his heart clench. Just because she had been laughing with another guy didn't mean he screwed up so badly that he'd lost her did it. Becker shook his head at the directions his thoughts were taking. She'd said she loved him, so she wouldn't have moved on that fast. _Holy shit!_Becker thought suddenly, _She loves me!_ He'd been so caught up in his fear and anger that the fact she'd said it hadn't even registered. He might be a bit of an idiot when it came to emotions, but he knew that if he lost her, be it to the stalker or his own stupidity, he wouldn't ever recover. _If that's not love,_ he thought, _I don't know what is._

"Are you even listening to me?" Abby's angry question brought him back to reality.

"Sorry. I was off in my own head for a second," he said sheepishly. Abby rolled her eyes with a disgusted sigh.

"Why don't men ever listen," she said. Becker figured it was safer to assume that was a rhetorical question and stayed silent.

"Do you think we should tell the Connor, Matt and Lester about Howell?"

"We don't know for sure it's him so we'll just tell them to keep an eye on him," Becker thought for a moment and frowned, "We should probably tell Jess to steer clear of him too."

"I don't think that's going to go over too well," Abby said.

"Why not?"

"I already tried she started defending him." She said. Becker's reply was cut short by his phone alerting him to a new message.

"Hold on," he said opening the message. He took one look at the screen and took off running for the ops room. People pressed themselves against the wall he flew past, their eyes going wide in surprise. Becker didn't slow down until he was standing next to the ADD and a very surprised Jess.

"Are you alright?" she asked concern etched in her features. Becker gulped down as much air as he could before speaking.

"You are not going anywhere without me," he stated.

"What's going on?" she asked him while handing him the bottle of water she kept stashed in her drawer.

"He sent me the picture this time," Becker said handing her the phone. Jess gasped as she saw the picture of her sitting at the ADD. She looked down at the pink dress she was wearing and back at the identical one in the picture.

"He was here." She said softly.


	20. Chapter 20

**OHHH we are getting so close to the climax of the story. I'm so eager to see what happens (I have the basic plot done, but there are always little things that change) I can't stop writing it. I hope every one likes this chapter. :D **

**Becker's POV**

"A little further," Connor said in Becker's earpiece. Becker obediently took another step back towards the doorway of the ops room.

"Got it," Connor's triumphant voice nearly deafened Becker, who winced and just barely managed to resist taking the damn thing out. "You're in a perfect blind spot. Can you see the ADD?" Connor asked. Becker held his hands up like a camera and twisted until he found the angle that matched the picture on his camera. He dropped his hands with a sigh.

"Yeah, this is where he took the picture from," he said resigned to the fact that they wouldn't get this guy on camera taking a picture of Jess. At the thought of Jess he looked over at Lester's office where she was waiting for him to finish up their secretive investigation. She was sitting in one of the chairs looking tired and a little scared. Becker felt his heart clench because he knew there wasn't really anything he could do for her. He could do everything in his power to protect her physically, but mentally she was on her own. He hated that!

"Maybe he just got lucky," Connor said hopefully. Becker turned his attention back to the man sitting at the ADD and shook his head.

"What he just happened to find the one blind spot in the cameras on pure luck? I don't think so." He said making a mental note to have the cameras adjusted to cover the blind spot.

"We still have the footage from outside the locker room. Maybe we'll catch someone who doesn't belong."

"Right, can you make a copy of the last two days and bring it round my flat tonight. If we go over it here and people might wonder what we're doing," he said remembering that Jess wanted to keep this as quiet as possible.

"Is this cause Jess doesn't want anyone to know," Becker swore he could hear the smirk in Connor's voice.

"Yes," Becker grumbled knowing the tech genius was going to tease him about this forever. Connor let out a short bark of laughter.

"She's got you wrapped around her little finger doesn't she?"

"Temple, you say anything else and I'll tall Abby you told me all about your sex life."

"I didn't!" Connor practically shrieked. Becker could see Connor going red and fought back a smile.

"I'm sure I can be pretty convincing," he said and watched as Connor's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"You win," he said.

"I always do," Becker walked over to the office where Jess and Lester appeared to be discussing something that Jess was less than pleased about. Becker mentally steeled himself for the tongue lashing he was most likely going to get from Lester, one that honestly he deserved. He was about to go in when his phone beeped, alerting him to a new text message. He glanced at his phone quickly and saw it was from Abby.

_Meet me and Connor in the menagerie after you're done._

Becker looked over at the ADD and saw that Abby was now standing next to her boyfriend. He met her gaze and nodded before entering the office.

"Good you're here," Lester said standing taller with his arms crossed over his chest, "I was just talking Ms. Parker here out of a very bad idea."

"What plan if this?" he asked leaning against Lester's desk so he could look at Jess, who hadn't gotten up from the chair.

"I send him an email telling him I want to meet," she said looking her lap. Becker fought against his initial reaction to say "hell no" and find a different way. He asked himself if he would consider the plan if it were anyone besides Jess. He sighed and rubbed a hand across his face, not really believing what he was about to do.

"It's something worth considering."

**Jess' POV**

Jess' head snapped up in shock. Had he really just said that? She snuck a glance at Lester, who looked just as shocked as she did, before looking back at her boyfriend.

"Really?" she asked putting as much disbelief in her voice as she could. It looked like Becker caught it because he gritted his teeth as he spoke.

"As much as I hate the idea on a personal level, on a practical level it makes sense." He said earning surprised looks from both Jess and Lester. Jess was shocked, she hadn't expected Becker to agree with her plan. Okay so he hadn't agreed to implement it, but he said he would consider it. Lester cleared his throat, causing Jess to jump and blush when the two men looked at her.

"Sorry," she said, "I was off in my own little world for a moment." Lester raised an eyebrow at her and Becker smirked, obviously guessing where her thoughts had been.

"Do you think Ms. Parker would be safe if she were to meet this man?" Lester asked looking at Becker who shrugged. Jess hoped he was acting distant so people wouldn't know they were together. She hoped that he didn't think they were breaking up just because of what she'd said earlier.

"He hasn't given any indication that he wants to harm her," he said, "All the violence has been aimed at me, being the closest man to her." Lester considered Becker's argument for so long that Jess was beginning to squirm in her seat. Becker noticed and frowned.

"You alright?" he mouthed. Jess nodded and did her best to remain still. She didn't have to wait long.

"Alright, we'll take it under advisement. But only as long as there are no threats of violence against her." He said pointing at Becker to get his point across. Jess jumped up from the chair and ran out to the ADD, leaving both men staring after her.

**Becker's POV**

"What's got her so excited?" Lester asked pulling Becker from his concerned thoughts. He really didn't like this plan, but he would do pretty much anything to keep Jess happy.

"She'd probably just happy to have some kind of plan to get this guy away from her." Becker looked over at Jess and saw her talking to Matt. Abby was standing off to the side and motioned for him to come with her when their eyes met. He sent a tiny nod in acknowledgement and turned to Lester.

"About earlier sir, I…" Becker stopped when Lester held up a hand.

"No apologies needed Captain. Just don't let it happen again."

"Yes Sir," Becker said smartly, he turned on his heel and walked out the door before Lester could change his mind. He was standing next to Jess in an instant looking over her shoulder at the screens.

"I'll try to listen to you, I promise," he said quietly so only she could hear and was rewarded by her wide smile. He straightened and looked at Matt.

"One of the team has to be with her at all times," he told the Irish man, who nodded his face serious as usual. Becker looked over at Abby who seemed impatient to talk to him, and for Abby that was pretty unusual. He pulled Matt away from Jess, he knew she wouldn't like being watched after.

"Can you keep an eye on her for a while? I have something I need to do." He asked. He wasn't really keen on Matt and he knew Matt felt the same, but for some reason they still trusted each other.

"Sure," he said, "Have some things I need to talk to her about anyway." Becker nodded his thanks and walked over to Abby who slipped out of the ops room when she saw him coming. Becker frowned and picked up his pace. He stopped when he saw her standing just outside the door.

"Here," she said handing Becker a folder. He gave her a confused look and opened it to find Sargent Howell's CV. He sighed. He hadn't told anyone, but he'd gone over it just after they'd all finished filling Lester in on the latest incident.

"I've seen it Abby," he said handing it back to her. She took it with a frown.

"And nothing stood out?" She asked looking surprised.

"Not really. Raised in Scotland by his parents, only child, excellent… What?" he asked when he saw Abby's eyes go wide.

"He told Jess she reminded him of his sister." She said.

"Let's find him." Becker growled.

**Jess' POV**

Jess was beginning to get bored. There hadn't been any anomalies lately, though she was rather grateful for that, and she'd already caught up with all the extra paper work she had to do. Matt was sitting at one of the desks nearby and she had a difficult time not laughing at the thought of him being her babysitter. A quiet ding brought her attention back to the screen. She clicked on the alert that had just popped up a dread the request for a new access bracelet. She huffed out an annoyed breath.

"This is beginning to get on my nerves," she mumbled to herself as she pulled up the person's CV. Once it was up Jess started the process for the info download while reaching into the drawer where she stored the extra bracelets. She frowned and opened the drawer further when she didn't feel anything. Sure enough the drawer was empty. She groaned at the thought of walking all the way to the storage room downstairs. All the stress from the stalker combined with regular work days had left unusually tired lately. _Not to mention sex with Becker,_ she thought, _that would leave anyone exhausted, but in the most pleasant way._ Jess smiled at the thought and suddenly felt more energized than before. She slid from her chair carefully, making sure her skirt didn't slide up and give people a show.

"Come on Matt," she said patting him on the back as she walked past him, "We're going on field trip." Matt sprang up and followed her out.

"How you holding up?" he asked as they walked down the stairs to the lower levels of the ARC.

"As well as can be expected I suppose," she said a little nervous. She'd never really liked this floor, it just felt so empty. The only rooms down here were for storage. Well the menagerie was on this level too, but it was on the other side of the ARC so Jess count it. Plus it was technically storage, just for creatures. Jess smiled to herself as she thought of Rex. Maybe she'd visit Abby in the menagerie before she went back up.

"It's creepy down here," Matt said looking around the empty floor. Jess giggled and Matt looked at her in what she guessed was surprise. "You don't think so?"

"Totally!" she said, "When I was here by myself for those two weeks I wouldn't come down here at all if I could help it."

"Then why the giggle?" he asked. His lips quirked a little into what the team had come to realize was Matt's actual smile.

"Because I never would have expected for you to think so." She said laughing again. Matt just shrugged as they made their way to the electronics store room. When they reached it Matt swept his wrist over the lock and entered a code to keep the door open.

"I'll wait out here," he said. Jess nodded and began looking through the boxes for the access bracelets.

"What do you need down here anyway?" Matt called from outside.

"Extra access bracelets, I could have sworn I had some at the ADD, but I guess I used then all. Aha!" Jess called over her shoulder in triumph as she found the right box. She heard a muffled thump from the hallway that made her jump, then silence.

"Matt? Are you okay?" she asked. She edged closer to the door and saw Matt lying on the floor unconscious. She gasped and ran to his side, frantically feeling for a pulse. A strong heart beat met her fingers and she let out a sigh of relief that turned into a squeak of alarm when someone grabbed her from behind.

"You belong to me," an unfamiliar voice whispered in her ear. Jess screamed as loud as she could.

"Becker!"


	21. Chapter 21

**I am sooooooooo sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I'd planned to put it up the next day, but life got in the way. I hope you guys can forgive me :( Anyway, let's find out what happens to Jess. Enjoy!  
**

Jess' POV

Jess struggled against the arms that were like bands of steel, pinning her arms to her sides. Her stalker began dragging her towards the loading dock and Jess knew that the minute she went out that door she was as good as dead. She also realized that no one else knew she was down here. If he got her out the door no one would realize she was missing for at least an hour. She threw her body weight against him, causing him to stumble into a wall. He curse and Jess felt her feet hit the ground again. Something her mother had taught her flashed in her mind and she brought her stiletto heel smashing down on the top of his foot as hard as she could. She winced when she felt bone break, but pushed down harder. Her assailant howled and loosened his grip enough that she could throw her arms straight out in front of her breaking his grip. She ran as fast as she could back towards Matt her hand flying to her earpiece.

"Intruder alert in storage level, medical assistance needed." She shouted into the com, not really caring if she hurt someone's ear as long as they got down here fast. She looked back over her shoulder just as her attacker slipped under the loading dock door. She leaned against the wall next to Matt and burst into tears, her entire body shaking as the adrenaline in her system slowly wore off. In the distance she could hear an army of boots thundering down the stairs.

Becker's POV

It took Abby and Becker half an hour to find Howell, strangely enough he was in the Armory doing the inventory. Becker had decided on the way over to give the young man the benefit of the doubt, but his resolve went out the window as soon as he saw the blond soldier.

"Howell!" he barked stalking over to the where the soldier in question had his head bent over the pages in front of him. He looked up and jumped to attention when his eyes landed on his C.O. Becker cursed under his breath, wishing the other man wasn't such a good soldier.

"Sir?" Howell somehow managed to make the single word sound like a question and a salute. Becker had no idea how he'd managed that. It failed to improve Becker's mood though. He stalked over until their faces were a foot away from each other.

"What is your interest in Jessica Parker?" Becker asked in a deadly whisper. He was surprised to see Howell's face cloud over rather than show even the small amount of fear he'd been aiming for. Howell didn't back down an inch.

"With respect sir, you may be my boss but you don't get to ask me questions about my personal life, and certainly not in this manner." Howell said gesturing to the lack of distance between them. Becker realized he should probably back off, but he couldn't.

"I can when it involves her safety," he said.

"I don't plan on hurting her so I don't think we have a problem," Howell said. Becker cursed and took a step forward forcing Howell to retreat if he wanted to keep the distance between them.

"Becker back off!" Abby told him, but he ignored her and continued advancing on the other man.

"You're the type of guy who gets off on scaring women aren't you?" Becker growled. Howell's eyes went wide and Becker really hoped it was from fear.

"Captain, I'm not stalking Ms. Parker." He said putting his hands up in a show of innocence.

"You…," whatever Becker had been about to say was cut off by Jess' panic stricken voice yelling into the com system.

"Intruder alert in storage level, medical assistance needed."

Both men took one look at each other and grabbed the nearest loaded weapon, before they took off running to find the terrified FC. They reached the stair way at the same time as the medical team and motioned for the medics to let them go down first. Becker started down the stairs, with Howell on his heels. Becker could hear sobbing coming from down the hallway and knew it was Jess. It took all his strength not to run to her, but he wouldn't be any good to her dead.

"Talk to me Jess," He said into his earpiece, "Is he still there." Becker held his breath waiting for her to speak. He heard her take a few deep breaths before her shaky voice whispered in his ear.

"No. Matt's hurt." Each word was forced out, but it was enough for Becker.

"Move," He told Howell, both men turned back up the stairs at the sound of more people coming, but relaxed when they saw that the rest of the tactical team had caught up. The team moved slowly clearing each room, and it was the longest five minutes of Becker's life. When he finally caught sight of Jess his heart nearly stopped. Her hair was hanging loose around her shoulders, Becker could see the clip she'd had it in lying about five feet away, and her purple blouse had been ripped open during the struggle. She didn't seem to realize he and the soldiers had arrived.

"Jess?" Becker edged forward cautiously, not wanting to scare her more than she already was. She looked up and Becker saw that her tears had made her makeup run down her face. When she saw him and the rest of the team her eyes went wide and she tugged the edges of her blouse together to cover herself.

**Jess' POV**

"Jess?" Becker's voice jolted her back to reality. A hand touched her shoulder, making her jump. Becker pulled his hand back.

"Sorry," he said taking a step back. Jess didn't want him to be that far away from her, but she couldn't seem to form an coherent words at the moment. A few medics pushed past him to see to the now groaning Matt. Another medic, a woman, held out her hand to help Jess stand, though she waited for Jess to initiate contact. She smiled shakily at the woman and took the offered hand. She wasn't too surprised that the woman was able to haul her to her feet rather easily. Jess remembered seeing her handle wounded soldiers like it was nothing.

"How do you feel?" the young medic asked. Jess tried to speak, but nothing came out. She could see Becker out of the corner of her eye with a concerned look on his face. She cleared her throat to try again, wanting to show Becker she was okay.

"Just a little shaken. Matt's the one who got hurt," she said. She was about to walk to Becker when the medic pulled her a little farther away from the group of men. Jess looked at her confused. The medic indicated her blouse and for the first time she noticed that her shirt had been ripped open. She pulled the edges together, trying to stay calm, and tied them in a knot when she realized most if the button were gone.

"Did he...?" the medic started to ask, but was stopped when Jess quickly interrupted her.

"No, not even close." Jess shuddered at the thought and felt exposed without Becker's arms around her. The medic shrugged out of her black military jacket and handed it to her without a word. Jess nodded her thanks and the medic turned to help her coworkers with Matt.

Jess looked over at Becker, who she could tell was struggling to stay back and give her a bit of space. But space was the last thing she wanted. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, not giving a damn who saw it. Becker's arms went around her waist without hesitation, pulling her tight against him, and he buried his face into the soft skin of her neck.

"Get me out of here," she said quietly. She felt Becker nod before taking his head away from her shoulder. He looked at the soldier next to him and Jess realized it was Howell.

"I can handle things here sir." he said before Becker could ask, "now that you don't want to kill me that is." he added with a wry smile. Jess frowned and looked between Howell's smiling face and Becker's surprisingly red one.

"Why did you want to kill him?" Jess asked confused. Becker got even redder, much to the apparent amusement of Howell.

"I'll tell you later," Becker mumbled as he led Jess back up the stairs.

They ended up in the Armory, which actually made Jess happy since it meant Becker was seriously armed if the stalker decided to make another appearance. The shaking had subsided for the most part and Jess was feeling better the farther away from the storage floor. Becker settled her on the cot in the corner that she put him on just that morning, pulling the jacket tighter around her, and sat next to her pulling her into the circle of his arm.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Jess leaned into his chest, feeling best she had since the attack.

"I'm fine," she said. She thought of how she'd fought him off and started giggling, which made Becker look at her like she'd lost her mind. "I fought him off," she said, to no one in particular, giggling like a maniac. "I actually fought him off."

"Jess, are you sure you're okay?" Becker was looking very confused and concerned at his point. Jess leaned up and kissed him, which surprised him but he went along with the kiss wholeheartedly.

"Yes. I'm sure I'm okay." She assured him. "But I'd be better if you kissed me again." Jess smiled at him, a look which Becker returned, and he dipped his head to capture her lips again.

"Whoa! Sorry sir," came a surprised voice from the doorway. Becker groaned and looked up at the soldier standing in the doorway. Jess just glared. Howell sent them both an apologetic smile and shrugged.

"Like I said, sorry." He turned his attention to Becker. "Lieutenant King says he found something in the loading dock he wants to show you."

**Becker's POV**

Becker sighed at the Sargent's news, he didn't particularly want to leave Jess. He was worried about her despite her assurances that she was fine. She was still too pale for his comfort. He looked down at where she was still snuggled under his arm.

"I'll stay if you want me to." He said simply and hoped she realized just what that meant to him. His duty as a soldier, and head of security, was to find the danger. But he would hand the job over without hesitation if she asked him to stay. She kissed him softly and extracted herself from his embrace.

"Go," she said making a shooing gesture with her hands, "I'll still be here when you get back."

"I'll keep an eye on her sir," Howell said carefully. Becker looked at the younger man, he wouldn't completely trust Howell until he knew why he had lied about having a sister, but he had a sense that Jess would be safe with the young man. _Still,_ Becker thought to himself, _better safe than sorry._ He motioned his subordinate outside the door and was satisfied to find that Howell complied immediately.

"You do realize that if anything happens to her you'll wish you were dead," he said calmly. The younger soldier nodded.

"Without a doubt sir." He said, standing at attention. Becker clapped the man on the shoulder and took off at a jog towards the loading dock.

When he reached the storage floor it was abandoned. The medics had moved Matt to the medical wing and his soldiers had cleared the floor, finding no sign of the intruder. He saw no sign of the soldier he'd come down here to meet.

"King, you down here?" Becker called down the hallway. His call echoed down the empty corridor and Becker barely held back a grimace. He had to agree with Jess. It was pretty damn creepy down here.

"This way sir!" The sandy haired lieutenant popped his head around the corner with a jolly smile. Becker shook his head. Lieutenant Alex King was a damn fine officer, and he had a cheery disposition that could rival Jess on her best day. Which caused his enemies to underestimate him time and time again, the lieutenant was a brilliant fighter when he needed to be. Becker was just glad he was on their side.

"What did you find Lieutenant?" Becker said loudly as he made his way to where King waited.

"I think I found what he used to make sure the cameras couldn't catch him," He said, "though Ms. Parker or Temple will need to take a look at it. I'm shit with technology." King led him to the loading dock roll up door, which was open about two feet.

"It looks like he went through here to get away," he said ducking under the aluminum door. Becker followed doing his best not to hit his head on the door. When he emerged from the entryway Becker saw something on the ground that looked like one of the black boxes the team used, but it was larger. He bent down to examine it.

"Is this what you were talking about King?"

Silence was all that greeted his inquiry. He began to turn when an arm wrapped around his neck and his vision slowly started going black.


	22. Chapter 22

**And now, the part you've all been waiting for. Becker kicks some ass! Enjoy!**

**P.S. I got a note that the entire chapter had been published in italics so I had to go back and fix it. Thank you Rubycaspar!  
**

_________**Becker's POV**_

Becker rammed his elbow into King's sternum, earning a pained grunt from the other man. The grip on Becker's neck loosened a fraction and Becker seized the opportunity, grabbing King's wrist and twisting his arm excruciatingly behind his back. Pain exploded in the side of Becker's face as King landed a solid elbow to Becker's eye and cheekbone. Becker stumbled back from the force of the blow, losing his grip on King's arm. King spun around before Becker could recover, snapping his leg out in a punishing round house. Becker felt at least two of his ribs crack under the force of King's kick. He gasped for air, fighting the instinct to curl his body protectively around his injuries. He looked up just as King threw a wild haymaker punch at his head. Becker ducked, King's arm just grazing his hair, and stood back up just as King came back with a vicious back fist. Becker caught the swing with his right hand and brought his left elbow sweeping up to make contact with King's straitened arm. The empty building echoed with the sound of crunching bone and King's agonized scream. King wrenched his arm from Becker's grasp with pure brute strength, breathing heavily from the pain. Becker used the move to put a little distance between them, his ribs screaming in agony. Sweat dripped down his forehead, the salt stinging the cut on his eyebrow he didn't even know he had. Becker wanted to wipe the sweat from his face, but he knew the distraction could cost him his life.

King glared at him with hatred in his eyes, his broken arm dangling uselessly at his side.

"Had enough yet King?" Becker taunted. His adrenaline had finally kicked in and the pain in his side was fading, the only thing on his mind now was making the other soldier pay for what he'd done to Jess.

"Go to Hell," King spat, his usually calm voice filled with venom. The curve of King's mouth suddenly curved into a sick, twisted smile. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small scrap of pink lace. He held it to his face an inhaled deeply.

"Ahhhh," he sighed, "I think I'll have Jess wear these for me first after I kill you." King held up his hand letting Becker get a good look at the pair of panties he could only assume King had taken from Jess' flat.

Any battle plan Becker had been working on disappeared from his mind. He rushed King driven solely by rage and animal instinct, slamming his shoulder into the other man's gut. Quickly slipping his hands behind King's knees, Becker bodily lifted the other man into the air before slamming him on to the cold concrete floor. He clambered on top, straddling the dazed soldier's hips before he could recover and began raining blow after blow to King's unprotected face.

For the first time in his life, Becker relished the feel of his knuckles pounding into flesh. Becker lost count of how many times he hit King, but he forced himself to stop before he killed the other man. He was willing to kill for Jess, but he knew she wouldn't want him to, and he would do whatever she asked without question. With some effort he pushed himself off the unconscious man and staggered over to the wall where he crashed against it. His legs gave out at the same time he heard voices calling his name and he slid down the wall, landing in a bloody and battered heap on the floor.

**Jess' POV**

Jess bit back a cry of shock at the sight if Becker crumpled on the floor. She could hear Howell calling for back up as she rushed to his side. A cut just above his eye bled sluggishly, staining her skirt as she pulled him up against her, and a nasty bruise was beginning to form around his eye. She stopped moving him when Becker winced and let out a pained groan.

"What hurts?" she asked desperate to discover how badly he was injured. Becker groaned and pulled himself higher so the back of his head was resting against her shoulder.

"What doesn't," he said tilting his head up to look at her, "but I'm feeling much better now that you're here." Becker tried to give her a roguish grin, but winced when it pulled on his split lip. Jess bit her own lip to keep from giggling in relief. She figured if he still had a sense of humor than he couldn't be hurt too bad.

"Why don't we save the cheesy lines for when you aren't covered in blood," she said. Becker looked at her in surprise, then looked down at himself. His shirt was nearly completely soaked with blood and it was splattered across his face. From the looks of King's face, the blood that coated Becker wasn't his own.

"Whoa!" he said somewhat shakily. Jess knew enough to know he was coming down from an adrenaline high, especially when she felt him begin to quiver in her arms. Jess held him closer, trying to share her warmth with him.

"Medics are on their way," Howell said knelling next to them for a moment. His face showed concern, which was quickly covered with soldier efficiency when Becker gave an order.

"See if that idiot is still alive," he said pointing to the man who'd been terrifying her for months. Howell nodded and wandered over to the unconscious man. Jess pretended not to notice how hard his feet came in contact with King's ribs.

"How did you know to come down here?" Becker asked her, drawing her attention back to him.

"Howell and I thought King might be the stalker," she said, glancing over at the still figure lying on the floor, "I guess we were right." She shuddered at the memory of the moment when she realized just how much danger Becker was in.

___________Jess listened as the sound of Becker's boots hitting the ground faded away and bit back a disappointed sigh. As much as she wanted him to find out who had attacked her, a small, okay fine a large part of her wanted him to stay. Remembering that her shirt was pretty much ruined and all she had was the medic's jacket Jess dug into the bag she knew Becker kept in the armory. To her delight he had an extra set of clothes. The sounds of boots coming closer pulled her out of her pity party. She slipped Becker's shirt over her head just as Howell came around the corner._

___________"Becker asked me to look after you while he's looking into something." He said, "If that's alright with you." Jess nodded, touched by his concern for her feelings._

___________ "I'd like to go to the medical wing to check on Matt," she said holding up the jacket, "and I have to return this to its rightful owner."_

___________ Howell stepped aside to let Jess exit the room sweeping his hand up in an exaggerated bow._

___________ "As you wish my lady," he said. Jess couldn't help but laugh at his antics, secretly happy that he wasn't treating her like she was going to dissolve into tears at any minute._

___________ "You're ridiculous," she said walking past him. He followed her out quickly, falling in step about a foot behind her._

___________ "That's my girlfriend's opinion as well," he said. Jess turned to look at him in surprise, before trying to hide her expression by brushing her hair behind her ear. Unfortunately Howell wasn't fooled._

___________ "I know the idea of me having a girlfriend baffles the mind," he teased her in what she could only describe as a brotherly fashion making her face flush red._

___________ "Sorry," she mumbled. Howell laughed loudly and shook his head dropping his gaze to the floor. Jess keeps walking, hoping that they could just forget that this ever happened. It took her a second to realize Howell had stopped._

___________ "You coming?" she said turning around to face him. Her brows drew together in confusion when she saw him staring at a spot on the floor. "Howell?"_

___________ "Are you bleeding Jess?" He asked startling her. She glanced at herself quickly and looked at him bewildered._

___________ "No," she said walking over to look at the spot on the floor that had captured the soldier's attention. She gasped when she saw a trail of blood following them down the hall. Jess recognized the shape of the trail and glanced at the heels she still wore. Sure enough her right heel was coated in still wet blood. Howell frowned when she tapped him on the shoulder, pointing on her shoe._

___________ "How did that get there?" he asked._

___________ "I must have hurt him more than I thought," she said softly, still a little shocked after the attack._

___________ "What did you do?"_

___________ "I stepped on his foot. I thought I felt a bone break, but…" she stopped when she saw the look on Howell's face. "What?" she said starting to feel a little apprehensive._

___________ "King was limping when he told me to get Becker."_

Hands pulling her away from Becker brought Jess crashing back to the present. She swatted the hands away, instinctively on the defensive, her first thoughts to protect Becker. However strange that sounded. It took her a moment to realize it was Howell.

"Jess, the medics are here to help," he said. Jess looked around and saw the female medic from earlier coming towards them. Three others were bent over the prone form on the floor. She backed up a little, allowing the young woman to try and check Becker.

"I'm fine," he said pushing himself up, only to stumble as he tried to take a step forwards. Jess rushed to his side, catching him before he could hit the ground.

"Don't be an idiot. You need to get checked out." She said forcing him towards the gurney the medics had brought down. He groaned when she lifted his arm over her shoulder, discreetly placing a hand in his ribs. Jess started to say something, but took one look at the determination on his face and decided against it.

"What happened to your shoes?" he asked her raising a bloody eyebrow. Jess had a hard time ignoring the pain in his voice, but she knew he would just brush it off.

"It was easier to run with out them, and the blood ruined them anyway." She said. The medic looked up with a smile as they approached. It was the one who'd given Jess the jacket earlier.

"How you feeling Ms. Parker," she asked as she slung Becker's other arm around her shoulder ignoring his grimace. She looked almost shy when she spoke. Jess recognized her, which wasn't surprising since she handled the introduction of each new member of the ARC, but she couldn't remember her name.

"Better now," Jess said, moving slowly when she felt Becker's knees start to buckle. Becker sent her a thankful glance and Jess squeezed his hand in support. "I'm afraid I left your jacket in the armory."

"It's alright," the medic said, "You can give it to me later. I had a spare." She tugged on her jacket for emphasis. She looked over at the gurney where her fellow medics were loading King and frowned.

"I'll be right back," she said leading Jess and Becker over to the wall so Becker could sit down.

"I hate medical leave," he said to Jess once the medic walked away. Jess did her best to keep from smiling at the petulant tone of his voice.

"At least you'll have me to keep you company this time," she said putting a hand on his arm and squeezing lightly. Becker brightened.

"You could always nurse me back to health," He said, his voice hopeful. Jess rolled her eyes.

"You have broken bones and you're bleeding, but you still have only one thing on your mind."

"Yep," he said with an unrepentant smile. Jess glanced at where the young medic was standing and saw her wheeling a second gurney out of the elevator.

"The only place you're going is the medical wing." She said nodding her head in the general direction of the medics making Becker groan. The medics arrived and quickly started getting Becker prepped for transport. He sent one last hopeful look at Jess.

"Are you sure you don't want to play doctor?" he asked. Jess pointed at the gurney.

"Get on the gurney." She said firmly trying not to smile. Becker was swiftly whisked away to the medical wing, leaving Jess to watch and follow later.

The young medic nodded to her and Jess raised a hand in return. When the elevator door closed Jess frowned.

"Why don't I remember her name?" she mused aloud to herself and jumped when Howell spoke from behind her.

"It's Kate," he said. Jess turned to him intending to ask how he knew her, only to find the Sergeant's eyes glued to the young medic's ass. Jess rolled her eyes and hurried after the medics hauling a grumpy Becker to the medical wing.

"Men!"


	23. Chapter 23

**For some reason this chapter decided to be written completely in Becker's POV. Not sure why, but it just felt right. Anyway, one quick note, there are most likely only two more chapters after this one. But if I get enough requests at the end of the final chapter I may be persuaded to add a third. Enjoy!**

**Becker's POV**

The only thing going through Becker's mind at the moment was how lucky the medical staff was that he didn't have a gun. He'd been poked, prodded and tested until he wanted to shoot someone. One of the medics came in just as he was about to try and make a run for it. She glared at him when she saw him sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I've treated enough soldiers in my short career Captain. I know all the tricks." She said shaking her finger at him. Becker suddenly felt like a child being scolded by a parent. It was not a feeling he liked. He was about to make that fact known when Howell walked in, his usual smile plastered on his face. He turned that blinding smile on the medic who turned white.

"Hello Kate," Howell said charmingly. Becker was a little surprised when the medic turned red.

"My name is Katie," she bit out through clenched teeth. She stormed out the door, giving the sergeant a wide berth as she passed him. Becker gave the sergeant a minute to stare after the girl before he whistled to get his attention.

"Where's Jess," he asked when Howell's head had snapped around. He'd actually looked like he'd forgotten Becker was even there. Howell pointed in the direction the girl he just left.

"Talking to the doctor," he said, "I think she's trying to spring you."

Becker figured now was as good a time as any to ask Howell about his fictitious sister.

"So how does an only child from Scotland suddenly have a sister?" Becker asked him crossing his arms. He covered a wince as his ribs fervently protested the movement. Howell wasn't as successful at hiding his flinch. He rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably.

"Yeah, in hindsight that probably wasn't the best plan," He said.

"Than why do it?" Becker said doing his best to look intimidating, which was not easy to do when you were confined to a hospital bed by a sadistic medic.

"The person who actually overheard Connor and Abby talking asked me to look out for Jess, but she didn't want Jess to know it was her. I figured if Jess thought she reminded me of a sister she'd see me as less of a threat," he said not taking his eyes off the floor. Becker wasn't sure what to say, and was spared from trying to figure out what to say next when the door opened and Jess entered.

Becker nearly swallowed his tongue when he saw what she was wearing. The man's white button down, which he thankfully recognized as his own, hit her just below the hem of her mini skirt. At least he hoped she was still wearing her skirt, he didn't want to imagine her not wearing anything under his shirt while he couldn't do anything about it.

She'd rolled the sleeves up to her elbows giving her the freedom to move and used a silver belt to cinch the shirt in at her tiny waist. The top few buttons were undone giving everyone a lovely view. She looked amazing and Becker couldn't take his eyes from her, but the part of Jess' outfit that caught his eye the most were the sinfully red satin stilettos on her dainty feet. The heels were a height usually reserved for strippers, but Jess managed to make them look classy and sexy as hell. If he didn't have a foot fetish before, those shoes might just give him one. The only thing that marred her appearance was the large blood stain on her shoulder. Becker assumed it was his blood since it didn't look like she was hurt.

"You can close your mouth now sir," Howell whispered to him while Jess was talking to the medic, who Howell had called Kate. Becker snapped his mouth shut and glared at his soldier, who was wisely trying to hide his grin.

"I'm going to shoot you," he told Howell. A yelp of surprise had both men snapping their heads around at a speed that put them at risk for whiplash.

The sound had come from the sadistic medic who Jess had suddenly pulled into a tight hug. The Kate looked surprised, and even a little nervous, but carefully returned the hug. As soon as Jess released her from the hug, Kate was out the door in a flash. Jess watched her leave for a second, a frown creasing her lovely face, before she shrugged and made her way towards the bed. Becker saw that Howell was looking rather concerned, his eyes glued to the door where Kate had just disappeared.

"You okay Howell," he asked. Howell blinked, the spell broken. Becker could see that Jess was looking at Howell in concern as well.

"What? Yeah, I'm um… just going to go now," he mumbled as he walked quickly towards the door. Becker shook his head, wondering just how many of his men were actually crazy.

"How are you feeling?" Becker felt Jess' hand brush gently against his arm and he reached over to grab her hand. He placed a kiss to her palm and was rewarded with a shiver.

"The doctors said you have to take at least three weeks of medical leave," she said. Becker sighed and dropped his head back against the pillows.

"That's what I was afraid of," he said forlornly. He saw Jess duck quickly to hide a smile. It was a well known fact at the ARC just how much the Head of Security hated medical leave.

"They also said you have to have someone with you at all times for the first week, just in case," she let out a exaggerated sigh, "I guess I'm stuck with that job." Becker tried not to smile at the playful look she sent him, but failed. Her good mood was infectious.

"Come on. Let's get out of here," Jess laughed tugging lightly on his hand. He nearly jumped out of the bed in his eagerness to get out of there, which only made Jess laugh.

The ride back to his flat cemented two things for Becker. He was absolutely in love with Jessica Parker, and he was never letting her drive again. Becker peeled his death grip off the door handle when they finally came to a stop in front of his building.

"You face deadly creatures on a daily basis, but you can't take a fifteen minute drive to you own flat?" Jess said smirking at him.

"Jess, you nearly hit three cars." He said. His hand hadn't left the door handle after the first near miss.

"But I didn't," she said. Becker muttered under his breath about crazy girlfriends dragging a giggling Jess behind him towards the flat. He unlocked the door to his flat and ushered Jess through, following close behind.

He'd barely locked the door before Jess through her arms around him and Kissed him eagerly. Becker was taken aback by her sudden enthusiasm, but took advantage of it all the same, quickly taking over the kiss and burying his fingers in her hair. When they finally broke for air, Becker pulled back and raised an eyebrow.

"Not that I'm complaining," he said, "but what brought this on?" Jess giggled and pulled him down by his shirt to kiss him again, this time her lips just brushing against his. She pulled away before Becker could take control, which resulted in the SAS captain sulking a little.

"It's really over," she said burying her face into his shirt. He was thankful that she seemed to be avoiding the ribs that had cracked during the fight. Becker nodded and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

"He can't hurt anyone anymore," he whispered against her hair, relieved that what he was saying was true.

"We're finally safe," she said, almost like she was trying to reassure herself. Becker's mind instantly went to Ethan, who had been surprisingly missing during the last few weeks.

"We do still have Ethan to worry about," he said without thinking. He winced and mentally cursed himself as soon as the words left his mouth. Jess sighed against his chest and looked up at him without taking her arms from around his neck.

"You really know how to spoil the mood don't you," she said with a sparkle in her eye. She unwrapped herself from his embrace and walked into the bedroom. Becker knew she was teasing him, but he felt bad all the same and hurried after her.

"I'm sorry Jess," he said entering the room just as Jess was taking her hair out of the clip. Jess turned around and walked over to him running her hands slowly up and down his chest.

"I know it's your job to worry, but can we put off anything having to do with Ethan? At least for a little while?" she asked. Becker was having a hard time concentrating with Jess' hand rubbing soft circles on his chest.

"Who's Ethan?" he said knowing it was what she wanted to hear. "Good answer," she said as smiled at him. His pulse jumped in response. He kissed her lightly, not able to resist any more. Jess looked into his eyes when they separated.

"Let's celebrate," she said with a gleam in her eyes.

Before he realized what was happening, Jess had succeeded in pushing the button down shirt from his shoulders and pushed him down on the bed. He wasn't sure when she'd undone the buttons, but he really didn't care at the moment. Becker frowned when she backed away from the bed and started to follow, only to stifle a moan when she looked at him from under the fringe of her bangs, her fingers moving to the buttons of her own shirt. Becker was helpless to do anything but watch as Jess slowly began opening her shirt button by button, slowly exposing a navy blue lace bra that left nothing to the imagination. The white shirt soon joined his on the floor and Jess reached for the zipper of her skirt.

"Jess," Becker growled reaching for her. She danced out of his reach, his fingertips just brushing the exposed skin of her waist. Jess slid the zipper down slowly and let it slip to the floor so she was standing in nothing but her bra, panties and black stilettos. Becker's jaw dropped as his usually adorable girlfriend actually strutted towards him in a way that would make catwalk models jealous. She pushed him flat on his back with her hands on his shoulders and climbed on top of his lap, settling herself firmly over his erection.

He tried to sit up, wanting to kiss her senseless in an effort to level the playing field, but winced when the movement caused a flash of pain to rush through his side. Jess put a finger in the middle of his chest and pushed back until he was lying flat on the bed.

"Stop it, or I will tie you to the bed," Jess scolded. Becker was shocked at her words, and damn if he didn't get harder at the image. She squirmed on his lap, making him groan and forget any rational thoughts. His hands automatically went to her hips, though he wasn't sure if he was trying to still her movements or encourage them.

"Shit Jess," he growled when she rocked her hips harder against him. He felt her hands drift down from his shoulders to rest on his bare chest.

"Don't you like it," she asked coyly as she repeated the movement, making Becker's eyes roll back in his head.

"Oh god," Jess leaned down to catch the groan with her lips. She moved her hips again and Becker's instinctively jerked seeking more contact. Jess left his lips to drag down his jaw and pepper soft kisses down his neck. He sucked in a breath when she found a particularly sensitive spot below his ear and his hand bit deeper into the skin of her hips. He felt her breathy laugh on his neck before her teeth nipped at the spot, making white spots of pleasure dance in front of his eyes. He groaned at the feeling and gave up trying to take control. His hands pulled at her hips encouraging her to rock her hips against him. A move she quickly responded to, setting a maddeningly slow pace that nearly had Becker begging her to go faster. He lifter her off him long enough to undo his black uniform pants and slide them down. When she settled back onto him Becker groaned when he realized how wet she was already. He reached between them to rub her through the thin material of her panties. He was rewarded with a gasp of surprise and a jerk of her hips. She started rocking faster, matching the speed of Becker's fingers.

"Becker," Jess whimpered and Becker knew she was close. He pushed her panties to the side and slid into her. Jess moaned and gripped harder onto his shoulders, digging her nails into the skin. Becker set the pace, using his hands on her hips to push her to a faster pace that had them both struggling for breath in seconds. Becker let go of her hips and trailed his hands up her sides until her reached the cups of her bra. He slid them down, exposing the peaked nipples to his hungry gaze. He toyed with the between his fingers, pinching softly and rubbing them, until he could tell from her cries that the slightest touch sent pleasure rushing through her. A few seconds later Becker felt her inner walls clench around him as pleasure overtook her.

"Oh God Becker!" she cried jerking against him a few times. The pulsing of her hot muscles proved too much for him and he came groaning her name. Despite the fact the neither of them could breathe properly, Becker slid a hand into her sweat soaked hair and pulled her down for a kiss. Her breasts rubbed against the sweat covered skin of his chest making them both groan. She broke the kiss and rested her forehead against his for a moment before sliding off his uninjured side, collapsing on the soft mattress. Becker turned to her and looked directly into her eyes.

"I love you Jess."


	24. Chapter 24

**Just a quick note. I changed some of the things from episode 4x7 so it would fit my story better. In my story Becker is not at the prison, Howell is in charge instead while Becker's on medical leave and once again this is an entirely Becker chapter, but the next chapter is most likely gonna be all Jess, so it works out.**

**Becker's POV**

Becker twisted in his chair, trying to work out the kinks in his spine and winced when his still sore ribs protested the movement. It was only his second day back at work and he was already itching to get back to the field. Unfortunately he'd only managed to con the doctor into clearing him for restricted duty, and Jess was still mad at him for that. She hadn't even let him "celebrate", especially since the last time had landed him back in the doctor's office the next morning when he'd woken up in agony.

___________Becker winced and automatically pulled away from the pain inflicted by the doctor's prodding of his ribs._

___________ "Well," the doctor said, "You don't appear to have damaged the bones any more than they already were, but you may have caused some muscle damage." The doctor walked away from the exam table, pulling off his exam gloves with a snap. He picked up the chart lying nearby on the table and started scribbling. Becker used the silence to come up with what he hoped was a believable story for the question he knew was coming._

___________ "What did you do last night that might have caused this?" the doctor asked, finally looking up from his clipboard. _

___________**And there it is**__, Becker said to himself. He sighed trying to buy a little more time to figure out what to say._

___________ "I fell out of bed and landed on a shoe," he said, knowing it was a pretty bad excuse as soon as he said it, but it was all he could come up with. The doctor lifted his eyes from the paper to look at Becker through the lenses of his glasses. Becker could tell right away the doctor didn't believe him. _

___________ "And I'm the fucking Pope," he said. Becker's mouth fell open, he honestly wasn't expecting that reaction. The doctor sighed._

___________ "Look, I can't treat you properly if you don't tell me the truth," he said dropping the clipboard onto the small desk next to him. "Care to try again?"_

___________ "I slept with my girlfriend alright." Becker crossed his arms, not particularly caring at the moment if he looked like a petulant child. The doctor just shrugged._

___________ "You're not the first solider to do that." He'd said. Becker felt himself blush and couldn't help but get a little pissed when it seemed like the doctor was having a little too much fun at his expense._

___________ "No one finds out about this or else," he growled at the doctor. The last thing he needed was people teasing Jess about using her feminine wiles to put him back in the hospital. The doctor looked rather amused and not a bit frightened. Becker guessed he got threatened by a lot of mortified soldiers and was now immune to the death glares Becker had worked so hard to perfect. _

___________ "Fine by me," the doctors walking to the door, "Just take it easy for the next few weeks and lay off the sex." The doctor left the room Before Becker could come up with a good retort. Muttering about doctor's being a pain in the ass Becker slid his shirt back on, wincing at the pain the slightest movement sent racing down his side. He was on his way out of the office when his chart caught his eye, and his curiosity got the better of him. He flipped the rather thick file open to the page for that day and stared at the reason for the visit. He smiled when he read._

___________ "Patient reinjured ribs after falling of a couch."_

Becker sighed tossing his pen onto the pile of untouched paper work on the desk. He was tempted to head to the ops room and hang out with Jess, but he didn't want to invite Lester's wrath since Lester might just send him home. The only thing worse than filling out paperwork, was sitting at home with nothing to do. The first week of leave hadn't been too bad simply because Jess had been with him, but once she'd had to return to work his days became filled with boredom.

The blaring of the anomaly alert made him jump from his chair, a move regretted when his ribs pulled painfully. He slowed to a quick jog as opposed to his usual all out run. Everyone else beat him to the ops room, which made him grumble a bit, but he quickly got into the routine.

"What've we got Jess?" he asked walking up behind her. Jess was busy typing away on the keyboard and didn't look at him.

"It's at prison about ten miles from here," she said. Howell reached around Becker to grab a black box surprising the captain who hadn't realized he was there.

"Are there any cameras?" Howell asked as he put in his ear piece. Jess hit a few more keys and shook her head.

"No. No cameras, you'll have to be your own eyes this time," Becker could tell she didn't like not being able to see what was going on to help the team. He put his hand on her shoulder with a comforting squeeze and was rewarded with a blinding smile. He couldn't help but smile back.

"If you two are done making goo-goo eyes at each other, can we get going." Howell said rolling his eyes. Becker and Jess both glared at him. Becker was about to tell him off when a small hand snaked through the screens of the ADD to grab a black box.

"You're the one who keeps talking," Katie said walking out from her hiding place. Becker raised an eyebrow and looked over at Howell, only to nearly burst out laughing at the look on the younger man's face.

"What are you doing Kate?" he asked Katie in a clipped tone. Katie glared at him while she clipped the black box to her black uniform pants.

"I'm getting ready to go, and I told you to call me Katie." she said in a tone that told him clearly that she thought he was an idiot.

"Where the hell is Phillips? And are you even qualified for field work?" Becker groaned when Howell spoke. He wondered if the young man knew just how deep he was digging the hole he was going to have to climb out of. Katie obviously felt the same way because if looks could kill, Howell would be squirming on the ground in agony from the look Katie was giving him.

"I'm perfectly capable of working in the field." She said coldly. Howell shook his head.

"I'm not risking a civilian in the field." He said firmly, Becker would even call it a snarl. Katie walked up to Howell and patted his on the shoulder.

"Sorry Howie," she said sweetly, "Lester's orders." Katie made her way to the garage without looking back at the young sergeant, who had a look of panic on his face. Becker would have laughed if the two of them hadn't been wasting time. He gave Howell a shove towards the door.

"Get moving Howell," he ordered gruffly. Howell snapped out of whatever trance he'd been in and quickly sprinted out the door, throwing a wave over his shoulder. Becker grinned despite himself. He was actually beginning to like Howell.

"Those two need to get their act together," he said watching Howell basically sprint down the hallway to catch up with the girl. He looked down when he felt Jess poke him in the arm.

"It took you long enough to figure out you were in love with me. Give them some time to figure it out." She said.

"Yeah, well I'm an idiot," Becker grunted as he wrapped his arms around Jess from behind. He could feel her smile on the cheek that was pressed against hers.

"Are you going to stay with me, or head back to play with your guns?" Jess asked him with a teasing glint in her eye. Becker grabbed the back of her chair and spun her around to face him.

"I do not play with my guns," he said, "and despite the fact that I would take time with you over cleaning a gun we both know you can't concentrate when I'm around." Becker grinned at her glare and turned to head back to the Armory, only to be stopped by Jess' hand on his arm.

"I know you want to be out there," she said giving his arm a squeeze, "but it'll only be a few more weeks." Becker couldn't help by swoop down and kiss the woman who knew him so well.

Becker spent the next three hours cleaning every gun he could get him hands on, trying to forget the fact that his friends were out in the field without him to protect them. Logically he knew Howell could do the job, but to Becker it was his team, his people, and his job to keep them safe. He was so involved in cleaning the G36 on the table that he started a bit when Jess walked in the room.

"Don't do that Je…," he trailed off when he saw her biting her lips, "What is it Jess?"

"Ethan showed up at the prison," she said, Becker tensed wondering what was coming next, "He was caught and they're bringing him in now." Becker nodded and sat back down in his chair, only slightly surprised when Jess slid gently onto his lap. He put his arms around her and pulled her firmly against his chest, making sure that her skirt was staying at a decent level. He didn't want anyone walking in to get a glimpse of his girlfriend's panties, he was the only one who got that privilege.

"Are you okay?" he asked her noticing how she curled herself into him, something she only did when she was nervous or scared. He felt her nod against him.

"I just really don't like that man," she said, her voice muffled. Becker pulled her in a little closer ignoring the dull pain in his side and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Well, just stay in the ops room and you won't have to worry about him," he said, "What's the ETA on the team?"

"About ten minutes," Jess said looking at her watch. Becker groaned and gave her hips a little push, telling her that cuddle time was over. She stood up and offered him a hand to help him back up. Becker grinned, it was just too good an opportunity to pass up. He took her hand but instead of standing up he pulled her back into his lap, catching her gasp of surprise with his lips. Jess quickly forgot her surprise and returned the kiss. It was at least five minutes before the two of them separated, Becker looked at the clock and groaned again.

"You have to get back to the ops room and I have to get to the garage," he said gently pushing her off him again and standing up. Jess took a step towards him and smoothed his wrinkled shirt.

"Maybe when we get home tonight, we can celebrate," she said with a familiar gleam in her eyes, one that Becker liked immensely.

"Let's go," he said and started leading her to the door. Jess laughed and tried to swat away his arm, blushing the entire time.

"We can't now Becker," she giggled. Becker looked down the hallway to check if both ways were clear before yanking Jess into a nearby office. She stopped laughing when he pinned her against a wall and planted a kiss on the exposed kiss of her neck, her nail digging into his back through his shirt. Jess moaned and tilted her head back exposing more of her neck to him, any sign of resistance melting away in seconds. He sighed and buried his face against her neck. After a moment of breathing in her scent Becker lifted his head to look in her eyes.

"I know," he said, "but we're going the same way." Jess blinked a few times before she started blushing.

"Howell has to fill you and Lester in, right?" she asked, sounding a little unsure of herself. Becker kissed her again, pushing her against the wall more firmly.

"We could always stay in here for a while," he said when he broke the kiss, his hand trailing up her thigh to dip under her skirt. She sent him a playful glare.

"It's your second day back and you're already trying to make Lester furious by being late?" Becker grinned and nodded, completely unrepentant. Jess point in the direction of the ops room and Lester's office.

"Work now, play later." She said slipping under his arm and dragging him off to the ops room.

An hour later the debriefing was over and Becker was back in the Armory cleaning guns again, or trying to clean guns. He was still in a state of shock at the fact that Danny was back, and currently talking to Ethan, who'd turned out to be Danny's long lost brother. Becker groaned and dropped his head to the table in front of him, wondering when his life had become so much like a soap opera. His head shot back up a second later, his neck twisting around so he could make sure no one was around before dropping it back down to the table. Normally he didn't mind the weird days, near death experiences and paperwork, okay so he hated the paperwork and hadn't had a near death experience in a while, but right now all he wanted to do was grab Jess and get back to their flat. Becker grinned stupidly at the thought of the flat being theirs. She might not have officially moved in with him, but most of her clothes were there and she spent every night curled up tightly against him. He'd been trying to figure out when would be a good time to ask to officially move in, but hadn't found one yet. That was a lie, he'd been avoiding it because he was afraid she'd say no. She seemed to overlook the fact that he wasn't good enough for her, but he'd never forget it. Becker's head popped off the table again, wondering when the hell he'd become such a coward. What the hell, he thought, I'll ask her tonight.

Jess' voice over the intercom and the sirens soon following interrupted his thoughts.

"Intruder alert, corridor 5. Intruder alert, corridor 5." Jess' voice said. Right outside, he said to himself as he shot to his feet and grabbed an EMD, disregarding the doctor's orders. He wasn't letting whoever it was getting anywhere near his Jess. He spun round a corner to come face to face with Ethan, who was holding a terrified Emily hostage.

"Drop your weapon," he yelled at the psychotic man raising the rifle to his shoulder. Ethan just looked at him and pulled Emily closer to him, her eyes going wide with fright.

"I think maybe you should put down your weapon," he said digging the EMD into the side of Emily's head. Becker saw her wince in pain and started lowering his weapon.

"Alright, alright, just don't harm her," Becker said setting his rifle on the ground. He wasn't sure why he did it, and he knew as soon as he did it was a mistake. Ethan smiled and Becker got a sick feeling in his stomach.

"Oh I won't," Ethan said whipping his EMD towards Becker and firing without hesitation. Pain exploded in Becker's shoulder as the blast hit him in the shoulder. He flew back into the wall, feeling his ribs crack again, and slid to the floor his entire body radiating in pain. He struggled to open his eyes, eventually forcing them open when he Emily.

"No!" she screamed. Becker's lids shot open to see Ethan pointing the EMD point blank at his chest and pull the trigger sending Becker into blackness. His last thoughts were of Jess.


	25. Chapter 25

**I'm really sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter up. I got hit with a bit of writers block, and I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. The next chapter is the last one I'm planning to writing, unless I get requests for an epilogue. There are medical terms used in this story and I added a glossary at the end to help with confusion. I hope you like it!**

**Jess' POV**

Jess brought up camera after camera to follow Ethan's movement as he tried to find his way to an exit, updating Howell as she went. Ethan was about ten yards from the armory when Becker rounded the corner, EMD in hand. Jess felt her heart skip when a beat when she saw him. She couldn't hear them but she could tell Becker was telling Ethan to let go of Emily. Jess was about to hit the talk button on her earpiece, to call for back-up, when she saw Becker hesitate. He started lowering his weapon.

"No, don't," she whispered to him, completely oblivious to the fact that he couldn't hear her. Jess watched in horror, a feeling of dread growing in her stomach, as Becker lowered his weapon holding his hand out as if to placate Ethan.

"Oh God," she said loudly enough that a few of the techs near her looked up to see what was happening on screen.

"Becker!" Jess screamed when she saw Ethan raise his weapon. There was nothing she could do but watch as Becker was hurled into a walk from the force of the EMD blast. She let out a small sigh of relief when she saw him wince in pain and move.

_At least he's alive and awake_, she thought trying to reassure herself. As Ethan walked past the wounded man Jess prayed he'd just leave, but instead he pointed his pistol at Becker again. Jess felt her own body jerk as the blast of energy hit Becker's chest, and go still as his did.

"Medics needed in corridor 5. Medics needed in corridor 5," Jess said into the speakers, though how she managed to keep her voice calm when her heart was slowly breaking was beyond her. She tore off her heels and sprinted for the door.

"Anthony watch the ADD!" she yelled at a nearby tech, who scrambled to do as she requested.

Jess could feel the tears streaming down her face as she ran to Becker. When she finally reached him, Jess felt her heart nearly stop. He was still in the sample position she'd seen him in through the camera, and she couldn't tell if he was breathing. She was at his side in an instant her fingers feeling for a pulse. Jess fought back sobs when she looked at him, he was so pale and there was something wrong with his throat. She let out a quiet cry of relief when she felt his heartbeat against her fingers.

"Becker," she said, her voice shaking, "Please wake up." She brushed a few strands of dark hair from where they'd fallen across his face, to scared of hurting him to touch him anywhere else. She jumped back when he coughed suddenly, only to quickly return to her original place with her hand against his cheek.

"Jess?" the word came out in a pained whisper. It was all Jess could do to keep herself from throwing herself at him in she settled for the hand that was resting against his cheek, her thumb sweeping back and forth against the smooth skin.

"The medics are on their way," she said, hoping it would comfort him and hating that it was all she could do.

"Can't breathe," Becker wheezed.

**Becker's POV**

Becker could hear Jess talking to him, but he could find the strength to open his eyes. There was a constant deep ache in his chest interspersed with stabbing pains every time he tried to take a breath.

"Becker," she said, it sounded like she was on the verge of tears, "Please wake up." Becker fought to open his eyes, his instinct to make her happy no matter what. He tried to take a deep breath, needing the oxygen to wake him off, but ended up coughing instead. His mouth filled with a metallic tang that was unfortunately all too familiar to him. He swallowed the mouthful of blood, hoping Jess hadn't seen in, and managed to get his eyelids to lift.

"Jess?" The question came out of his mouth in a breathy wheeze, which scared Becker all the more.

"The medics are on their way," He heard her say, but it sounded distant, fading.

"Can't breathe," Becker wheezed. Becker could see fear flicker in Jess' eyes and he hated that it was his fault she was feeling like this. He started tugging at the Kevlar vest he wore.

"Vest off," was all he could gasp out and fortunately Jess instantly started pulling open the Velcro that held the normally lifesaving vest on. It took them less than ten seconds to have the vest off and thrown to the side. It didn't make much of a difference, but it was slightly easier for him to breathe and Becker would take even that little bit of improvement. Jess laid her hand gently on his chest and he could feel how cold it was, or how hot he was, he wasn't sure which.

"It'll be fine," Jess said in a firm voice, despite her lower lip trembling, almost like she was trying to convince both of them. But Becker knew it wasn't going to be okay. He was dying, and he knew it. _Shit,_ he thought looking at Jess. He tried to say something but only coughed up more blood, wincing from the pain that went shooting through pressure was building in his chest, making it harder and harder to less and less air was getting to his lungs, Becker's vision started to go blurry. Blindly he reached for Jess, grabbing the hand that was still on his chest and putting his own hand on her tear soaked pulled as much air into his battered lungs and said the first thing that came into his head.

"Marry me?"

**Jess' POV**

"Marry me?" Becker's voice was barely more than a whisper, but Jess still heard it. She stared at him in shock for a moment, before kissing him. It was little more than a pressing of her lips to his, but she nearly sobbed out of fear when she tasted the blood that was leaking from between his lips. Then she knew why he'd asked. He thought he was dying.

"You're going to be okay," she said refusing to believe that he could die. Becker took another shuttering breath and began coughing. Jess moved so that his back was resting against her and wrapped her arms around him, waiting for the medics to arrive.

"Please Jess," his voice was even weaker now and Jess was finding it harder and harder to keep it together. She nodded before remembering that he couldn't see her. She pressed a soft kiss to his neck, fighting the urge to cry.

"I'll marry you, but you have to hold on okay," she said wishing that this proposal was real and that he wasn't going to die in her arms before the medics could get to him. He went limp in her arms and Jess started panicking.

"Becker!," she shouted. She didn't know what to do, so she just buried her head in his shoulder and started to cry. She only had a minute to grieve before the thundering of footsteps had her head popping up.

"Over here!" she screamed desperately hoping it was the medics. She nearly started crying again when she saw Katie round the corner.

"I don't think he's breathing," she managed to tell her friend before Becker was pulled from her by another medic. One of the soldiers that had followed them helped Jess to her feet, catching her when her legs gave out. She watched the medics cut Becker's shirt of him with a surprising detachment, one that disappeared when she saw the mottled purple bruises that were quickly expanding. She let out a cry and the soldier had to support most of her weight. Katie took one look at Becker and turned to one of the other medics nearby.

"He's got Tracheal Deviation," she said putting a stethoscope to the injured man's chest, "Decreased lung sounds on his left side." Jess' head swam with the medical terms being thrown around. The other medic tossed something to Katie.

"Tension Pneumo?" he asked reaching for his ear piece. Katie nodded and finished unwrapping whatever was in her hand.

"Sorry Becker," she said before she suddenly plunged it into Becker's chest a few inched below his collar bone.

"What the hell are you doing?" she screamed trying to fight her way to Becker's side, but she couldn't break the grip the soldier had on her. Becker's sudden coughing had her frozen in place. The soft hiss of air escaping could be heard from the large hypodermic needle in Becker's chest. Jess felt the soldier holding her tug her back a little and she let herself be pulled father away from Becker.

Katie looked over at her for a second, before turning her attention back to her patient. She ran her hands over him carefully, but stopped at his ribs. Jess looked down and instantly felt a little nauseous. There was a portion of Becker's ribcage that was moving differently than the rest, it was sucked in towards his back when the rest of the ribs expanded.

"Flail chest," Katie said putting her hand firmly over the spot until another medic began wrapping a bandage around the injury.

"He has blood in his mouth," Jess said flatly, not sure if the information would help or not. Katie looked at her with wide eyes before opening his mouth and shining a small penlight in. Even Jess could see the blood from her position five feet away, and she turned away fighting back a fresh wave of tears. Kate turned to the medic who'd been relaying information to the medical wing during her rapid assessment.

"Tell them to get a chest tube prepped, we've got a possible Tension Hemopneumo coming in."

The medics were suddenly a blur of motion as they rushed to get the still unconscious Becker strapped to a gurney and off to the medical wing. Jess ran ahead of the gurney carrying her boyfriend, opening the doors for the medical teams with a swipe of her wrist band. She could hear the medics updating each other and the doctors in the medical wing on Becker's condition, but she couldn't understand a world they were saying so she tuned them out. She focused all her energy on helping them get him where he needed to be rather than how pale he looked, or how shallow his breathing was. A wave of doctors in black scrubs met them at the door of the ARC hospital and they quickly took over the situation, listening to the medic's report and shouting orders to the nurses. Jess started to follow Becker through the door, when she was stopped by a nurse in green scrubs.

"You have to stay out here Ms. Parker," she said not unkindly. The older woman led Jess over to a plush chair and pushed her into it. She was about to say something when a long trilling note filled the air.

"He's flat lining," Jess heard a voice yell from behind the door where Becker had disappeared. The nurse ran through the doors leaving Jess to sob alone in the waiting room as she listened to the sound of Becker's absent heartbeat.

**A/N: Just a few definitions for some of the medical terms used in the chapter.**

**Tracheal Deviation: When a person's windpipe is pushed out of place, can be a sign of a Tension Pneumothorax. (Xray pics of it are pretty easy to find on google)**

**Tension Pneumo: Short for Tension Pneumothorax. A Tension Pneumothorax is the accumulation of air under pressure in the chest cavity. In this case it's caused by a broken rib puncturing a lung.**

**Flail chest: When three or more ribs are broken in two or more places. (you can find videos of it on YouTube. It looks pretty weird.)**

**Tension Hemopneumo: Short for Tension Hemopneumothorax. Same as a Tension Pneumothorax, only there's blood filling the chest cavity with the air.**

**Flat Lining: That sound you hear in the movies just before the doctor shocks somebody. You know the . Just FYI, you can not, repeat can not restart someone's heart when they flat line. It means there is no movement in the heart at all. At least in real life, in fiction however anything can happen.  
**


	26. Chapter 26

**Okay so I hit more writers block. This was supposed to be the last chapter, and be twice as long, but the universe had other plans. I figured I'd at least put this part up since I left off with such a cruel cliff hanger. Enjoy!**

**Jess' POV**

"Of all the stupid things to do," an angry voice came through the doors where the nurse had just disappeared. Jess looked up just as the nurse who'd been with her earlier came through the door literally dragging a young male medic by his ear.

"Let me go!" the young man wailed, but the nurse was having none of it.

"Did they teach you anything at that school? You don't yell what's going on…," the nurse's voice faded away at they walked down the hall. If she'd seen it any other day Jess would have been laughing hysterically, but she was too numb to do anything but breathe and even breathing was difficult at the moment. Becker was gone and Jess didn't think she would survive losing him. She curled into a ball and stared at the floor while her chest heaved with violent sobs, making her feel like she was being ripped apart.

A pair of black combat boots appeared in her line of vision and she felt a hand settle on her shoulder.

"Jess?" the voice was familiar, but she couldn't look up, she couldn't even move with the emotional pain that had taken over her body. The owner of the boots crouched down and Jess found herself facing Katie, the woman who had tried so hard to save Becker. Jess saw the concern in her eyes and tried to say something, but nothing cane out.

"He's okay Jess," Katie said softly. Jess' head snapped up, soon followed by the rest of her as her feet took over and took her towards the double doors. Katie stopped her before she could get too far.

"Sit," she said settling Jess into the chair once again.

"What happened?" Jess asked surprised that her voice still worked. Katie sighed and sat down in the chair next to Jess.

"One of the leads fell off his chest, which made the heart monitor lose the sinus rhythm, or appear to flat line," she explained, her hand never leaving Jess' shoulder. Jess wasn't sure if it was in comfort, or to keep her from running to Becker. "David over there over reacted when he heard the heat monitor," Katie said pointing to the young medic who was currently getting an earful from a very irate nurse.

"So," Jess said looking back at Katie, who still looked nervous, "Becker's going to be okay?"

"He's hurt pretty bad, so there's no guarantee, but it looks good for now." Katie told her in her usual blunt manner. For once Jess was glad that people weren't treating her like she was made of glass. Both women looked up when another nurse stuck her head out.

"Katie, we could use another set of hands in here," she said. The lack of urgency in her voice made Jess let out the breath she'd been holding since the doors had opened. The nurse looked over at her and smiled.

"He's doing good sweetie," she said walking a little farther into the waiting room, "We've got some blood going into him and a chest tube in to drain the blood out of his chest." She put a comforting hand on Jess' shoulder. "The doctor will come talk to you once we've got Captain Becker squared away." The warmth from her hand stayed on Jess' shoulder for a few minutes after she and Katie returned to help the doctors with Becker. Alone in the waiting room Jess pulled her legs under her and set her head against the arm of the chair.

Jess tried to swat at the alarm clock that was making an incessant beeping sound without opening her eyes. She kept missing it so she felt along the bedside table where she knew it should be only to come up empty.

"What the?" she mumbled to herself sleepily. She rubbed her eyes and stretched, trying to get rid of the unfamiliar kinks in her spine.

"It feels like I slept in a chair…" Jess trailed off as her exhausted brain finally caught up with the rest of her body. Images of Becker being shot, twice, the rush to the medical wing and him dying flashed through her mind.

"Becker!" she said throwing off the blanket covering her and frowned. She remembered being in a plush chair in the waiting room, but somehow she'd wound up in a bed covered with a blanket. She looked down and was relieved to see that she was still in the clothes she'd been wearing earlier. _At least no one stripped me_, she thought. The sound off footsteps signaled the arrival of another person. She quickly recognized the unique sound of combat boots and for a moment she prayed all her memories had just been a bad dream. Her heart sank as she spun around just in time to see Katie pull back the privacy screen Jess hadn't even realized was there. Katie's tired face broke into a smile when she saw Jess standing there.

"Oh good, I thought I was going to have to wake you up," she said walking over to the confused FC.

"Where's Becker? And how the hell did I get in here?" Jess asked indicating the bed she had just vacated.

"Well," Katie said as she bent down to fish something out from beneath Jess' bed, "You fell asleep in the waiting room while you waited for news on Becker and Howell insisted on bringing you in here rather than leave you in that stupid chair. I have to admit I agreed with him." Katie handed Jess the pink heels she'd taken off when she left the ADD to get to Becker. Jess took them and put them on without thinking. She didn't even really care how she'd gotten to the bed, she just wanted to know what had happened to Becker.

"Becker?" she prompted when Katie stopped talking to watch Jess put on her shoes. Katie seemed to jump a little at the question, Jess guessed the medic must have been pretty tired if she was zoning out like that.

"Right next to you," she said with a tiny smile. She signaled for Jess to follow and led the other woman to yet another privacy screen. Jess bit back a gasp of shock when it was pulled back to reveal an unconscious Becker. In less than a second Jess was next to him, with her hand in his. She bit her lip to keep from crying as she looked him over.

A tube had been put down his throat and was hooked up to a ventilator that was breath for him. Jess cringed when she was the tube in his chest and leaned carefully over the bed to see what it was for. The tube was slowly dripping blood into a biohazard container attached to the side of his bed. When she turned to Katie Jess could feel the tears burning her eyes.

"Is he going to be okay?" she asked quietly.

"It looks worse than it is, I promise," Katie was quick to assure her, "Do you want the doctor to come explain it to you?" she asked. Jess shook her head.

"Can you just give me the basic version?" Jess asked, "I don't think I can handle anyone else right now." Katie nodded and took a step closer to the bed.

"The force of the EMD broke his ribs and collapsed a lung. The tip of a rib also punctured his spleen which caused some internal bleeding. The doctor thinks it'll correct itself without surgery, but it will take a lot of bed rest for the next few weeks and absolutely no movement for the first few days. Which we all know Becker is great at," Katie said the last words with heavy sarcasm and an eye roll for good measure. Jess found herself chuckling despite the situation.

"The doctor's gonna keep him sedated until the bleeding stops. The Endotracheal Tube, that's the one down his throat," Katie said pointing, "is just a precaution. We'll take it out as soon as we wake him up." Jess nodded, not trusting herself to speak without crying again, only this time her tears would be from relief rather than fear.

"I've gotta go check in, but Lester already told the medical staff that you could stay here until he wakes up, barring any medical emergencies of course." Jess listened to the sound of the other woman's boots as they walked out the door, before carefully burying her face in the side of Becker's neck and letting the tears flow.


	27. Chapter 27

**Crisis averted! I got a huge blast of inspiration out of left field and we now have the final chapter. Please remember that if I get enough requests I am more than happy to add one more epilogue chapter. Enjoy! And please review, I want to know what people think!**

**Becker's POV**

Becker came to slowly, his head still swimming a bit as the last of the sedatives wore off. He could feel the tape around his mouth and reached a hand up to try and take it off, only to encounter what he assumed was one of those breathing tubes you see on TV. A hand grabbed his before he could try to take the damn thing out of his mouth. Another hand joined the first, wrapping his cold hand in a bundle of warmth, and he felt a pair of soft lips press against his knuckles. He turned his head as far as the tube would allow and was relieve to see Jess standing there with her lips pressed firmly against his hand. Her eyes were closed, but Becker could see the tears leaking out from between the lashes. Following his instincts Becker reached over with his other hand to brush the trails of moisture from her cheeks, ignoring the pain that shot through his ribs. Jess opened her eyes the moment Becker's fingers touched her. She leaned over and touched her forehead to his.

"Please don't scare me like that again," she whispered, tears evident in her voice. Becker closed his eyes and breathed in the scent that was purely Jess, not taking his hand away from her cheek. After a moment Jess stood up straight and let go of his hand.

"I'll go get the doctor," she said just as she turned to leave. Becker's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist before she could walk away. He didn't want her to walk out that door. Part of him was afraid that she wasn't going to come back. He remembered asking her to marry him, but he passed out before he heard an answer and he was worried that he'd freaked her out by asking so soon. Jess must have seen the worry in his eyes because she leaned towards him and kissed his cheek, lingering longer than usual.

"We need to talk," she said softly brushing her thumb across his cheek, "and we can't do that with that thing down your throat." Becker nodded carefully and watched her walk out the door. His whole body was tense as he waited for her to walk back through, which she thankfully did. Flanked by a few nurses and the same doctor who'd been treating him for his first injury.

"Good to see you awake Captain," the doctor said. He did a few tests to check his reflexes and motor function, which only served to piss Becker off since all he wanted to do was talk to Jess. He started to tell Becker what his condition was, but Becker barely heard any of it. He was too busy looking at Jess who had yet to take her eyes off the floor since she'd come back in.

"Okay, I think we're ready to take that tube out of your throat. On the count of three I want you to cough as hard as you can. Do you understand Captain Becker?" Becker fought the urge to make some kind of obscene gesture at the doctor, for talking to him lie he was stupid, and simply nodded. He'd do anything the doctor wanted if it meant he could finally get an answer from Jess.

"One, two, three…" Becker coughed when he was supposed to and the doctor slid the tube from his burning throat. _Note to self, _Becker thought, _never get put on a ventilator again._ Becker rubbed his sore throat and instantly tried to tell the medical team to leave, but nothing came out.

"The tube causes some mild trauma to the vocal cords, so try not to talk for a while." The doctor said before turning to one of the nurses. Becker groaned as he tried to figure out how he was going to talk to just when he couldn't actually talk. The sound of the door opening again had everyone looking up quickly. Katie looked surprised when everyone's attention was suddenly on her, but recovered quickly and walked over to Becker, handing him a notebook and a permanent marker when she reached him.

"I figured you might need these," she said, and Becker could have kissed her if it wouldn't have gotten him in trouble with Jess. He instantly started writing and turned the paper towards Katie.

"Everyone out but Jess," she read aloud with a laugh. In no time she'd hurried the doctor and nurses out, despite their protests. Becker had written his first message to Jess while she'd done so and waited for Jess to turn her attention to him.

"I don't know if you remember half the things you said so I'm giving you an out on the whole asking me to marry you thing," she rambled, "we can forget it ever happened and just go back to what we had-Hey!" Jess shouted when Becker threw a wadded up piece of paper at her to get her to look at him. He held up his paper.

"So will you marry me or not?" it said. Jess gapped at the sign he was holding and Becker hoped it was a good stare and not a 'what the fuck?' stare. Jess moved closer to the bed, close enough for Becker to touch her, but he held back just in case she didn't want him too.

"You want to marry me?" Jess asked after a minute of silence, her voice shaking. Becker nodded his heart beating a mile a minute as he waited for her answer. Jess slowly nodded, a huge smile spreading across her face. Becker grabbed her as fast as he could and kissed her. She kissed him back with a fierceness that surprised him. _Maybe I should almost die more often,_ he thought then threw that idea out the preverbal window and focused on kissing his new fiancé. Jess pulled back, which Becker was not too happy about.

"Only you would propose when you're bleeding to death." She said with a smile before kissing him again.


	28. Chapter 28

**Okay, I lied. It looks like there's going to be at least two more chapters. To everyone who asked if I was writing any more Jecker fics (darn for getting me into the combined names *shakes fist menacingly*) I do have a few one shots planned as well as a prequel for this story, from when they meet up until the bomb. I'm also debating whether or not to write a Howell and Katie fic, not sure what I want to do with those two yet. Anyway, thanks for all the wonderful comments! They totally make my day! Enjoy the latest chapter.**

**Becker's POV**

Becker blinked at the light that flooded his eyes as he blinked awake, confused. He sat up and winced as he tried to rub the new knots out of his neck. _What the hell?_ He thought as he looked around the deserted armory. It was only a week until the wedding, and four months since the painful encounter with Ethan, and he'd been doing extra paperwork all week to make up for the fact that he'd be gone for two weeks. And now apparently he'd fallen asleep at his desk with his neck in some god awful position that not even a professional contortionist could comfortably pull off.

"Shit," he growled when he finally glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was after ten o'clock and he'd promised Jess he'd be home early tonight so they could talk. She'd been asleep by the time he'd come home for the past few weeks so there hadn't been much talking, or anything else, for a while. He had to admit he was a little freaked out about what was waiting for him at home because Jess had been acting strangely lately. He'd chocked it up to wedding jitters for a while, but the call earlier had clinched it for him that something was wrong.

_Becker yawned as he stared at the unfinished paperwork in front of him. _

_ "Just finish these last few pages and you can go home and crawl into bed with Jess," he told himself aloud. He'd just put his pen to paper when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He grumbled a little as he pulled out the offending piece of technology, but quickly stopped when he saw a picture of Jess on his caller I.D._

_ "Hello love," he said, after making sure Connor wasn't anywhere he could overhear the endearment and tease him about it. That kid had no sense of self preservation, and Becker would hate to have to explain to Abby why Connor was in the hospital wing._

_ "Are you coming home soon?" Jess said. Becker frowned at her nervous, and slightly distracted, tone._

_ "Is something wrong Jess?" he asked instantly ready to rush home as fast as possible. Lester had made sure King wasn't getting out of jail before his hearing, but Becker wasn't willing to take any chances._

_ "No, we just need to talk," she said. It was silly, but Becker froze when he heard the clichéd sentence, hoping like hell it didn't mean what it usually meant._

_ "Are you sure you're okay Jess?" he asked._

_ "I said I'm fine," Jess snapped. Becker nearly dropped the phone in shock. He'd never heard Jess use that tone in the entire time he'd known her. Frustrated and angry yes, but never this short or tense._

_ "I can be home in about twenty minutes, if you want me to." He said warily. Something was definitely wrong, but it didn't sound like Jess was in any kind of physical danger. He heard Jess sigh over the line._

_ "It's alright. I have to run some errands, so just finish up what you're doing and come home as soon as you can. Okay?"_

_ "I'll be finished with the important paper work in about an hour," he said, still completely baffled by her unusual demeanor._

_ "Alright," she sighed again, making Becker extremely uncomfortable. He did not like this side of Jess, and was hoping it went away fast. Becker could usually get Jess out of a bad mood pretty fast, so he promised himself he'd finish at the ARC and get home quick._

_ "I love you," Becker said his part of their traditional farewell and waited for the warmth that he knew he would feel when she said hers._

_ "Bye," Jess said distractedly. Becker looked at the phone in shock again until the dial tone knocked him back to reality. It was the first time since they'd gotten together that Jess hadn't said I love you in return. Becker knew he needed to finish here and get back to the flat to figure out what the hell was going on. Becker stifled a yawn and got back to work. _

He grabbed his coat and keys as he went through the door at nearly a sprint, not caring who saw him. All he could think about getting home to convince Jess to forgive him, because he feared his worst nightmare was coming true.

When he finally arrived at the building his flat was in, he'd hit nearly every red light on the way, it was pretty obvious that Jess was sleeping. From his parking spot he could see the only two windows that his flat had, and they were both dark. Becker sighed his disappointment and pulled the small duffle bag off the front seat before slamming the car door in frustration. He winced when the loud crash echoed in the empty street and his eyes unconsciously darted to the dark windows of his flat. He nearly laughed aloud at the fact that he was worried he'd wake Jess by making a noise that they both had probably slept through a hundred times before. The alarm on the new truck beeped as when he pushed the button on his key chain from the stairs and Becker nearly winced again at how loud it sounded when there wasn't any other street noise to cover it. He shook his head at his own absurdity and began walking up the three flights of stairs to his flat.

The dread he'd been feeling ever since the phone call earlier rose with every step he took closer to his front door. He played over the events of last week in his mind, noting just how distant and shy Jess had been acting towards him. He realized she'd been avoiding him at the ARC, and that they'd started taking separate cars once again. Something they hadn't done since she'd first come to stay with him during the whole King incident. The third floor hallway was empty and silent when he finally reached the ordinary looking wooden door, but Becker could feel that his life was about to be torn apart when he put in his key and turned the knob. It took a while for his eyes to adjust to the darkness as he walked into the silent flat and closed the door behind him, eliminating the only light source. His SAS training allowed him to move silently down the small entryway, despite his combat boots, and into the kitchen. The light over the stove was on and he headed to the counter where the small bowl where he and Jess stored their keys sat. He froze in terror when he saw the midsized duffle bag sitting by the bowl, its shape making it obvious that it had already been packed to bursting. A small blue envelope sat on top of it, his name written in Jess' smooth hand writing on the front. Becker's chest constricted as he felt his worst fear coming true. Jess was leaving him.

**A/N: Please don't kill me! I just love torturing Becker so, and I couldn't resist the cliffy.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Yay! Final chapter is up! I love all the reviews everyone has given me, they actually made it a lot easier to write. Enjoy!**

**P.S. I'm definitely writing a Howell/Katie fic (which will have some Jecker), I just want to know if I should post it. Anyone interested?**

**Becker's POV**

Becker's hand shook as he carefully picked up the envelope that could possibly bring his world crashing down around him. He stared at the envelope for a full minute before he could actually work up the courage to open it. Give him marauding raptors and he could take them head on without blinking, tell him that he could lose some one he loves and he silently crumbles. Taking a deep breath he turned the envelope over, only to find that it had never been sealed. The not inside was a simple piece of sketch paper that Jess had turned into a card.

_I know this isn't what we planned,_ Becker could hear Jess' voice in his head as he read the front of the card and it didn't do anything to numb the pain of what he knew was coming. Bracing himself he opened the card, and he stopped breathing.

_But congratulations Dad. _

Becker stared at the grainy black and white sonogram that was taped just below the words, his chest squeezing tightly from an entirely different emotion. He took a shuttering breath as he fought off the tears he could feel welling in his eyes. Suddenly his knees gave out and he sagged against the counter before sliding down to the floor with a solid thump. Normally he would have winced at the pain of his tailbone meeting a solid object, but at the moment he was too overwhelmed to notice.

"I'm gonna be a father," he whispered to the empty room. In that moment he realized exactly why Jess had been acting so distant.

_Becker had his head in Jess' lap as they lounged on the couch. They'd decided to take a break from planning for the wedding and pop in a movie. They'd decided on a small wedding since the only people they wanted to invite were their friends at the ARC. Becker was very close to dozing off with Jess absently running her fingers through his hair. It was an intimate gesture he'd discovered he really like, and had no shame in silently asking for it on a regular basis. Though he rarely had to since Jess seemed to like it nearly as much as he did._

_ "Becker?" Jess' voice roused him from his near sleep and he grunted to let her know he was listening. _

_ "We're getting married in a month and I just realized we've never talked about children." Becker stiffened automatically and he felt Jess' hand still in his hair. He wasn't sure what to say, but he knew what was coming next just from her reaction. So he pulled himself up with a groan so they could have this conversation with him not on his back._

_ "Do you want kids some day?" she asked. She sounded nervous and Becker realized that she'd already guess his answer, and that it wasn't the same as hers. He ran his fingers through his hair, wishing they were hers, wishing they weren't having this conversation. But it had to happen sometime, and now seemed as good a time as any._

_ "Honestly?" he asked and Jess nodded slowly. "No." Jess nodded and kept looking at the floor, but Becker could see tears forming in her eyes. He instantly felt a little like he'd stepped on a kitten._

_ "Jess, I…" he was cut off when Jess' phone rang and she hurried off to answer it._

_ "Shit," he thought running his hands through his hair in frustration, "that did not go well."_

Becker looked up from the floor to the bag that still sat there tormenting him. He couldn't figure out what it was for, unless Jess had packed it full of his clothes in case he hadn't taken the news well. He couldn't blame her for assuming the worst, not that he'd ever leave her, but it still hurt just the same. The thought of him having kids had always terrified him. He'd lost so many friends that the thought of loving someone so completely was unimaginable. When he'd looked at the sonogram he'd definitely felt fear, but it wasn't the idea of being a father that scared him. It was the fear of being a bad father.

Becker managed to get to his feet somehow and stumbled over to the bag, hoping it wasn't full of his clothes and that Jess still had some faith in him. He unzipped the bag with shaky hands, and was greeted by dozens of baby blankets and tiny clothes. He nearly laughed with relief as he picked his way through what was obviously Jess' delivery bag. _Of course Jess would already have it packed months in advance, _he thought looking over at the open door leading to the room he shared with his fiancé. The bag was zipped and he was at the door before his mind had fully caught up with his body. He grinned like an idiot when he saw her sleeping on the bed in what he called her Beckerless position. When he was next to her she would usually be draped across him, or at least curled up against him. When he wasn't home she always slept on her back with one hand over her head, and the other resting just below her breasts. Tonight it was the perfect position for what he wanted to do. He tugged off his jacket, tossing it carelessly to the floor, and started unlacing his boots as quietly as possible. When he set them both on the ground he carefully joined Jess on the bed, not wanting to wake her, and crawled over to wrap his arms around her small waist. He settled his head on her belly, his ear pressed against the smooth skin her shirt had left uncovered. He knew it was just his imagination, but he could swear that he could hear their baby's heartbeat. Jess muttered something in her sleep and her hand drifted down to tangle in his hair. Becker smiled against her skin, convinced he'd found his new favorite sleeping position. He fell asleep sprawled on his stomach with his arms wrapped protectively around Jess and listening to the imaginary heartbeat of his son or daughter.

**A/N: I couldn't resist the baby! I was really hoping Becker thinking Jess was going to leave him, and the lack of the normal hints (cravings, morning sickness,…) would make it more of a surprise, cause I don't always like to instantly figure it out. **


	30. Chapter 30

**Attention ****Living With a Lie**** fans! ****Living With a Lie**** is now complete. However my new story ****Lovers Lost and Lovers Found**** will be a continuation, not a sequel since it does not focus on Becker and Jess, but on Howell and Katie. Becker and Jess will most likely play a large roll though. Thanks again for all the wonderful comments they mean the world to me and I hope you all enjoy my next story.**

**P.S. Never fear, there will definitely be some Jecker on-shots in the near future. **


	31. AN

**AN: I know it's been a long time since I updated this story, but I was rereading all the reviews I got from this story and was wondering if anyone would be interested in my adding a few more chapters covering the wedding, pregnancy, birth and maybe early childhood? Just let me know and I'll get started.**


	32. AN 2

**AN: The second part of this story has been published. Thanks to all the wonderful reviews, and suggestions (thank you omg-its-jenna and WildGypsyWoman12 (love the name btw)) I have decided to continue the story line as another work titled Living With a Secret. I hope everyone enjoys the story and lets me know. Enjoy!**


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